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Rights and Freedoms
17 October 2022Media ReleaseNew report aims to help fast-track Australia’s OPCAT implementation process
A new report released today by the Australian Human Rights Commission outlines activities required to expedite Australia’s sluggish approach to implementing the United Nation’s Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT). Informed by the Commission’s recent National OPCAT Symposium, the Road Map to OPCAT Compliance… -
Rights and Freedoms
23 September 2022Submission
National Preventive Mechanisms: a formal safeguard for people with disability Submission to the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability
This submission highlights the vital role of the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the OPCAT) in creating a proactive and formal safeguard to preventing violence, abuse, neglect, and exploitation of people with disability in situations of deprivation of liberty. -
Rights and Freedoms
30 May 2022Publication
Mr AO v Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Home Affairs) (2022)
Explore the report into the use of force in the case of Mr AO v Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Home Affairs) from 2022. -
Rights and Freedoms
18 March 2022Opinion piece
Time for review on COVID-19 border and quarantine restrictions
OPINION With the McGowan Government announcing earlier this week that the Western Australian hard border will ease on February 5, 2022, Australia is inching ever closer to border closures becoming a thing of the past. But while many of us would like this to be true, it is important to realise that we’re not there yet. While border restrictions are easing around Australia and State premiers… -
Rights and Freedoms
18 March 2022Opinion piece
What is happening in Ukraine should matter to every Australian
OPINION There is almost 13,000km between Australia and Ukraine. It is literally on the other side of the world. Given the vast distances that separate us, it would be easy to claim that what happens there has nothing to do with us. That Australia should focus instead on the many challenges we face at home and leave the rest of the world to deal with their own problems. That would be a grave … -
Rights and Freedoms
4 February 2022Submission
Monitoring of Places of Detention (Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture) Amendment Bill 2022 (Bill)
The Australian Human Rights Commission welcomes the opportunity to make this submission to the Northern Territory Department of the Attorney-General and Justice with respect to its consultation on the draft Monitoring of Places of Detention (Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture) Amendment Bill 2022 (Bill). -
Rights and Freedoms
21 January 2022Opinion piece
Novak Djokovic drew global attention to Australia's immigration detention regime. Now we need proper scrutiny of all places of detention
Novak Djokovic’s recent detention at Melbourne’s Park Hotel drew international attention to Australia’s use of hotels as Alternative Places of Detention by immigration authorities. But while Djokovic’s detention was measured in days, others still remaining in the Park Hotel measure their detention in years. Hotels are simply not appropriate places to detain people for extended periods. The… -
Rights and Freedoms
10 December 2021Publication
Free and Equal: A reform agenda for federal discrimination laws (2021)
This Position Paper sets out the Australian Human Rights Commission’s proposals for reforming federal discrimination law in Australia. It forms part of the Commission’s Free and Equal project: A National conversation on human rights. -
Rights and Freedoms
18 November 2021Opinion piece
Loss of freedoms and rights has harmed us
OPINION November 18, 2021 Ronald Reagan famously said that “freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction”. For many Australians, until recently, freedom has been something we have largely been able to take for granted in our daily lives. But with millions of Australians only recently emerging from lengthy lockdowns, and every single one of us still… -
Rights and Freedoms
15 June 2021Publication
Ms PQ and Ms PR v Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Home Affairs) (2021)
Report into a failure to treat persons deprived of their liberty with humanity and respect for their dignity -
Rights and Freedoms
27 May 2021Video
Accountable AI decision making: Human Rights and Technology 2021
Artificial Intelligence offers great opportunities – but it also has the potential to do great harm. The Australian Human Rights Commission’s new Human Rights and Technology report recommends safeguards to protect the community, as Human Rights Commissioner Ed Santow explains. Read more: https://tech.humanrights.gov.au -
Rights and Freedoms
27 May 2021Video
Accessible technology: Human Rights and Technology 2021
New technology can make our community more inclusive – but we need smart design that works for everyone. The Australian Human Rights Commission's new report on Human Rights and Technology recommends new standards to ensure accessible technology for all, as Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow explains. Read more: https://tech.humanrights.gov.au -
Rights and Freedoms
1 May 2021Media Release
Travel ban and sanctions on Australians travelling from India
The travel ban on Australian citizens returning from India, accompanied by criminal sanctions under the Biosecurity Act, raises serious human rights concerns. The Commission supports the continuation of aid to the Indian Government as it copes with the current COVID-19 crisis, but the Commission holds deep concerns about these extraordinary new restrictions on Australians returning to… -
Rights and Freedoms
22 April 2021Media Release
Greater scrutiny of emergency powers needed
The Australian Human Rights Commission has called for greater accountability to be embedded in laws that extend the Commonwealth’s power in the event of national emergencies. In its submission to a Senate inquiry examining the National Emergency Declaration Act 2020, the Commission recommended five changes to legislation that was enacted by parliament in 2020. Human Rights Commissioner… -
Rights and Freedoms
24 December 2020Publication
LF v Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Home Affairs) (2020)
Read about the case of LF v Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Home Affairs) 2020. -
Rights and Freedoms
11 December 2020Video
Rosemary Kayess: Human Rights Day Oration 2020
Watch Human Rights Medal winner Rosemary Kayess present the 2020 Human Rights Day Oration. Rosemary Kayess is a leading human rights advocate for people with disability in Australia and worldwide. Rosemary contributed to drafting the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and successfully lobbied for its ratification in Australia. Last year, Rosemary was … -
Rights and Freedoms
1 December 2020Video
Balancing Human Rights During COVID19
Protecting public health and protecting human rights are not mutually exclusive choices – but how do we keep the balance between the two? What safeguards do we need to protect rights and freedoms in Australia and prevent the ‘creeping authoritarianism’ we have witnessed elsewhere in the world? These were just some of the big questions of our time discussed by the panellists during the … -
Rights and Freedoms
11 November 2020Publication
Mr AC v Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Home Affairs) (2020)
Explore a report into arbitrary detention in the case of Mr AC v Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Home Affairs) in 2020. -
Rights and Freedoms
6 November 2020Publication
PD v Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Home Affairs) (2020)
Understand the case of PD v. Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Home Affairs) 2020, exploring the legal issues and decisions. -
Rights and Freedoms
29 October 2020Submission
Review of the mandatory data retention regime (2019)
The Commission’s recommendations are aimed at ensuring that the data retention regime is more closely tailored to the purpose of fighting serious crime and is subject to appropriate safeguards and oversight.