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Rights and Freedoms
3 August 2023News story
Forum to end mistreatment of people with disability in detention
Learn more about the National Forum on Cruel, Degrading and Inhumane Treatment of People with Disability and Mental Health Disorders in Detention. -
Rights and Freedoms
13 March 2024Speech
The Commission’s model for a Human Rights Act for Australia
The Australian Human Rights Commission's model proposes a national Human Rights Act, safeguarding rights for all Australians and addressing human rights concerns. It aims to modernize the legal framework. -
Commission – General
27 August 2021Publication
Corporate Plan 2021 - 2022
Respect for human rights and freedoms is the cornerstone of a cohesive and peaceful society in which everyone can make a contribution and feel safe and included. This Corporate Plan shows how we achieve our purpose and promote an Australian society where human rights are enjoyed by everyone, everywhere, everyday -
Disability Rights
29 September 2023Media ReleaseCommission welcomes ‘historic and transformative’ Disability Royal Commission report
Read our media release welcoming the release of the final report from the Disability Royal Commission, noting the huge significance the report’s contents will have for people with disability and their loved ones for decades to come. -
1 March 2024Event
Livestream the Launch of Wiyi Yani U Thangani Institute
Launch of the Wiyi Yani U Thangani Institute and Change Agenda for First Nations Gender Justice Livestream Join us virtually to celebrate the official launch of the Wiyi Yani U Thangani Institute, and the Wiyi Yani U Thangani Change Agenda for First Nations Gender Justice! This historic event will be accessible via l ivestream from 6:15pm (AEDT) on Tuesday 19 March 2024. This is a free… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
9 October 2019Media ReleaseCourt 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 Department of Home Affairs should have provided them with procedural fairness. As a result of the … -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
5 May 2021Media Release
Media Statement: Federal Court improves pathways to protection for more than a thousand asylum seekers taken to Ashmore reef
More than 1,000 asylum seekers have a greater ability to apply for protection in Australia following a landmark judgment by the Federal Court on Tuesday. “When a person seeks asylum in Australia, it’s vital that their application be processed quickly, fairly and transparently. This judgment will remove administrative barriers for a vulnerable group of people who have been waiting too long to… -
26 September 2019Conciliation register
2018-04-02
The complainant has anxiety and owns a home in a strata complex. He claimed he was unable to attend meetings of the respondent body corporate, which were held at residents’ homes, because of his disability. He claimed the body corporate declined his requests for meetings to be held offsite to accommodate his disability. The body corporate confirmed requests by the complainant to hold… -
27 September 2019Conciliation register
2018-07-04
The complainant was employed by the respondent government agency in the role of Senior Risk Manager. He injured his right knee, making it difficult for him to drive the long distance required to travel between work and home. The complainant claimed the agency declined his requests for adjustment, including assistance to travel to and from work or the ability to work from home. He said he… -
Commission – General
28 August 2020Publication
Corporate Plan 2020 - 2021
Respect for human rights and freedoms is the cornerstone of a cohesive and peaceful society in which everyone can make a contribution and feel safe and included. This Corporate Plan shows how we achieve our purpose and promote an Australian society where human rights are enjoyed by everyone, everywhere, everyday. It has been prepared in accordance with s 35(1)(b) of the Public Governance -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
31 October 2023Opinion pieceNow is the time to act. The referendum must not lead to despair, but to a search for new ways to secure justice
This opinion piece by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar AO, appeared in The Guardian Australia on Sunday 29 October 2023 The day the proposal for a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous voice was rejected by the majority of my fellow Australians will be remembered by many as a sombre day in our country’s history. After the result, there is much pain… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
1 November 2022News story
Statement of condolence for Cassius Turvey's family and community
We are deeply saddened by the death of 15-year-old Cassius Turvey last week in Perth. As this matter is before the courts, it would not be appropriate for us to make comment on the circumstances surrounding Cassius’s passing. -
Age Discrimination
8 August 2023SpeechBuilding a better cultural inheritance for an ageing Australia
Hon Dr Kay Patterson AO Age Discrimination Commissioner Keynote Address to National Press Club of Australia, Canberra Wednesday, 28 June, 2023 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY Welcome Thank you Andrew Tillett (National Press Club Vice President) for your kind introduction. I am sometimes introduced incorrectly, but maybe more accurately, as the Ageing Discrimination Commissioner. I wish to acknowledge… -
Commission – General
15 September 2021Speech
Human Rights Day Oration 2020: Rosemary Kayess and Nas Campanella
The 2020 Human Rights Day Oration was delivered by leading disability rights advocate Rosemary Kayess, winner of the 2019 Human Rights Medal, and a contributor to the drafting of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Ms Kayess discussed the social transformation of CRPD and the impact it has had on the community as well as her work with the Disability Royal -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
2 December 2020Publication
Inspections of Australia's immigration detention facilities 2019 Report
Human Rights Commissioner’s foreword For several decades, the Australian Human Rights Commission has expressed deep and longstanding concern about the human rights of people held in Australia’s immigration detention facilities. As a result of our most recent inspection process, that concern has deepened. Some of the issues of greatest concern to the Commission are as follows. A number of… -
Rights and Freedoms
21 April 2020Opinion piece
Resisting extremism in a pandemic
When the COVID-19 pandemic spread to this big island of ours, our leaders made a momentous decision: they decided to save as many human lives as possible. This was the right decision. It shows we as a country care about human life above all else. But now we face an even harder question: how to save lives while preventing economic collapse and staying true to our democratic values? In order… -
Disability Rights
3 May 2022Publication
RetroFit Kit exhibition (2022)
The RetroFit Kit exhibition demonstrates how common Australian housing types could be systemically modified to achieve seamless and dignified home environments for people with disability, their families, carers and future occupants. -
Rights and Freedoms
28 September 2023Opinion piece
COVID-19 Inquiry a missed opportunity
Read the Human Rights Commissioner, Ms Lorraine Finlay's op-ed about the terms of reference for the inquiry in Australia's pandemic response. Understanding the full human cost of the pandemic is vital for ensuring a more effective response for future public emergencies. -
Sex Discrimination
15 March 2024SpeechWomen’s Legal Services Launch of Publications
Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM Good evening. My name is Rosalind Croucher and I am the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission. I would like to pay my respects to the Gadigal people of the Eora nation whose lands we are meeting on today and on whose lands our offices of the Australian Human Rights Commission reside as well. I’d like to acknowledge their elders past and… -
Race Discrimination
16 October 2024Publication
An Anti-Racism Framework: The Perspectives of Multicultural Australia
This report presents the findings and recommendations that followed consultations with more than 1200 people with lived experience of racism from across Australia, enhancing the Commission’s understanding of the prevalence and impact of racism in the country.