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In recent years there have been significant developments at the international level that impact upon the recognition and protection of the human rights of indigenous peoples. Most notably, there have been: i) reforms to the machinery of the United Nations (UN) and the emphasis given to human rights within that system; ii) the making of global commitments to action, through the Millennium…

The Commission has a highly committed and experienced workforce. To ensure that staff have support to achieve a work life balance, we provide access to a wide range of flexible work options. These best practice strategies assist staff of all ages, with various disabilities and external responsibilities to work productively and safely.

As a part of the government’s commitments under the Australian Human Rights Framework, there have been extensive consultations to discuss how the current anti-discrimination legislation can be consolidated into one piece of legislation.

As my predecessor pointed out in the Native Title Report 2003, native title is a political process as well as a legal process. Indigenous people enter a relationship with the State on the basis of their identity as the traditional owner group of an area of land. In some cases native title has provided the first opportunity since colonisation for a relationship of this type to be formed.

Australia operates bilateral human rights technical cooperation programs with the Governments of China and Vietnam. These programs are funded by AusAID and managed by the Commission on behalf of the Australian Government.

A key priority throughout my five year term as Social Justice Commissioner is to strengthen and rebuild relationships within our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

This appendix provides a summary of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) whole-of-government community trials initiative and its implementation in each state and territory. [1]

We are often invited to share our knowledge and expertise with others in the region and around the world. For example, we engage in regular technical cooperation programs with China and Vietnam and currently support a number of disability organisations in Pacific Island countries.

The twin pillars of the government's approach to Indigenous policy in 2003 continued to be practical reconciliation, with its emphasis on service delivery in core areas of disadvantage, and mutual obligation, with its emphasis on reciprocity and individual responsibility. Through both of these policies, the government has identified moving Indigenous people beyond welfare dependency and enabling…

The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) (RDA) makes it unlawful to discriminate on the basis of race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin. The proscriptions of unlawful discrimination in the RDA potentially apply to Shared Responsibility Agreements (SRAs), including:

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) welcomes the opportunity to respond to the Australian Human Rights Commission (the Commission) report on Immigration detention and offshore processing on Christmas Island following its visit to Christmas Island in July 2009.

The new arrangements for Indigenous affairs have been put in place to ultimately improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. However, the fundamentals required to make the new arrangements work have yet to be properly established. While governments are waiting to hear from communities about their needs and entering into agreements with communities at a growing rate,…

The International Labour Organisation Convention 111 deals with discrimination in employment and occupation. Australian adherence to this Convention provides that all people have the right to equal treatment in employment and occupation without discrimination on the basis of:

Improving the health status of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is a longstanding challenge for governments in Australia. While there have been improvements made in some areas since the 1970s (notably in reducing high rates of infant mortality1) overall progress has been slow and inconsistent. The inequality gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other…