News
Commission – General
Media statement: Use of force in immigration detention
Fourteen complaints about the use of force in immigration detention form the basis for a comprehensive thematic report by the Australian Human Rights Commission tabled in Parliament today. The report considers the practices of handcuffing detainees, use of physical force within centres including arm...
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
Court finds asylum seekers entitled to fair process
Up to 71 asylum seekers who missed out on making an application for a protection visa were still entitled to a fair assessment of their claims the Full Federal Court has held. The Court accepted submissions from the Australian Human Rights Commission that an internal process established by the...
Rights and Freedoms
UN Human Rights Commissioner speaks out
Australian Human Rights Commission conference Free and Equal: An Australian Conversation on Human Rights Statement by Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 8 October 2019 President of the Australian Human Rights Commission, Rosalind Croucher and fellow Commissioners Mr Les Malezer...
Rights and Freedoms
Commissioners call for compassionate approach for Tamil family
Australian Children’s Commissioner Megan Mitchell and Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow have today written to Minister David Coleman, calling for an urgent and compassionate resolution for the Tamil family detained in immigration detention on Christmas Island. “Given their connection to...
Rights and Freedoms
Free + Equal: Australian Conversation on Human Rights Closing Remarks
Closing Remarks Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM President, Australian Human Rights Commission Check against delivery For a start, thank you Julia, Dr Baird for that wonderful MC-ing of the day. What an array of fantastic insights! I said at the beginning that it would be challenging...
Rights and Freedoms
Free and Equal: A National Reform Agenda for Human Rights in Australia for the next decade
Commission President Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM addressed the Castan Centre human rights conference on July 26. The topic was ‘Free and Equal’: A National Reform Agenda for Human Rights in Australia for the next decade. Thank you to the Castan Centre, and its Director, Professor Sarah...
Children's Rights
Children’s Rights in Australia: looking back and moving forward
Good morning everyone. I’d like to begin today by acknowledging the traditional owners of the land, the Widjabul people of the Bundjalung nation. I acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make. I also pay my respects to elders past, present and emerging. I’d also...
Commission – General
Australian Human Rights Commission’s complaint handling jurisdiction
Civil Justice Research Conference 2019 Macquarie University, Sydney Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM [ Professor Croucher spoke to this paper] Abstract The complaint handling role of the Australian Human Rights Commission from time to time attracts some attention in the media—but not always...
Rights and Freedoms
Roles, responsibilities and challenges
The Australian Human Rights Commission—roles, responsibilities and challenges Supreme and Federal Court Judges’ Conference 2019 Hobart, 22 January 2019 Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM [Professor Croucher spoke to this paper] Introduction I begin my presentation by acknowledging the...
Rights and Freedoms
Finalists announced – 2018 Human Rights Law Award
The five finalists for the 2018 Human Rights Awards’ Law Award have been selected, with two from Western Australia competing for the prize. “We have received the highest number of entries for the Law Award since the Human Rights Awards the awards began in 1987,” said Commission President, Professor...
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
Urgent call for seriously ill Nauru children to be transferred
The Australian Human Rights Commission is calling on the Federal Government to urgently transfer any seriously unwell asylum seeker children – and their families – from Nauru to Australia. The Commission notes several recent cases where the Federal Court of Australia has consistently found the...
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