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Commission – General
14 December 2022Speech2022 Human Rights Day Oration by Larissa Behrendt
"No More Just Tinkering at the Edges" Human Rights Day Oration by Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt AO 9 December 2022 I pay my respects to the Gadigal and the Elders who have kept knowledge on this country and shared so generously this unceded land. Before I start, I would like to thank the Commission for the honour of the 2021 Human Rights Medal. The award reflects a long-term… -
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… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
15 July 2021SpeechLexisNexis webinar
Welcome everyone. Before we begin, I would like to acknowledge the country upon which each of us stands today. I myself stand upon my Bunuba land here in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. I acknowledge and pay my respects to Elders past, present and emerging across all the lands and waters of this nation. Thank you for inviting me to speak today. I would like to thank LexisNexis and… -
8 December 2020Book page
Part 4: Healthy and engaged lives
Learn how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls face challenges with their health, wellbeing and education and how this is being addressed. -
Commission – General
15 March 2024Speech
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 for constructive reasons. This presentation set out the real story. It is one that is a worthy… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
15 March 2023Media Release
Commission opens registrations for landmark summit of First Nations women
This historic event is set to inform a range of new approaches for advancing the rights, health, safety, wellbeing and economic opportunities of First Nations women and girls. -
Technology and Human Rights
15 May 2023Opinion piece‘Weaponised' AI an existential threat to truth, human rights
This opinion piece by Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay appeared in The Australian on Monday 15 May 2023. In George Orwell's 1984, the Ministry of Truth exercises absolute control of information according to The Party ethos, “Who controls the past, controls the future: who controls the present, controls the past”. If the Ministry of Truth existed today, a more accurate slogan would… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
16 June 2020SubmissionMigration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill 2020
The concerns outlined in this submission draw on the Commission’s work inspecting Australia’s immigration detention facilities. The Commission has conducted such inspections since the mid-1990s. -
8 December 2020Book page
Part 3: Living and belonging
Learn about the Wiyi Yani U Thangani project, which works to improve health, housing and education outcomes for Indigenous women and girls in Australia. -
Age Discrimination
16 May 2023Speech
Human Rights Don't Diminish With Age (2023)
Hon. Dr Kay Patterson AO Age Discrimination Commissioner Speech to Chris Barnard Nursing Agency (CBNA) MACG Grand Cedar, Ashwood VIC, 3 May 2023 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY Welcome everyone - I wish to acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and Bunurong people as the traditional owners of the lands from which I speak and pay respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging. I also want to -
Race Discrimination
13 February 2019Media ReleaseReconciliation Australia Barometer shows steady progress, but still work to do
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar AO and the Race Discrimination Commissioner Chin Tan have welcomed today’s release of the Reconciliation Barometer. The survey conducted every two years since 2008, measures the progress of reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous Australians. Among the key findings;… -
Rights and Freedoms
21 April 2020Opinion pieceResisting 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… -
Race Discrimination
7 November 2022Media Release
Attorney-General commits Government to anti-racism strategy in Kep Enderby Memorial Lecture
“Australia’s continued success as a multicultural nation must include an ongoing commitment to addressing racism,” the Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said. -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
17 January 2019Media Release
Time to act on constitutional recognition
The current and former Social Justice Commissioners have called for political leadership to ensure the recommendations of the Joint Select Committee on constitutional recognition are realised. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar AO and former commissioners Mick Gooda, Professor Tom Calma AO, Dr William Jonas AM and Emeritus Professor Mick Dodson… -
Complaint Information Service3 February 2023Webpage
Fact Sheet: Respect@Work – Changes to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 and the Australian Human Rights Commission Act (December 2022)
On 12 December 2022, the Anti-Discrimination and Human Rights Legislation Amendment (Respect at Work) Act 2022 (Cth) (the Act) came into effect. The Act makes important amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) (the SDA) and the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth) (the AHRCA). These changes were recommended by the Australian Human Rights Commission (the Commission)… -
Race Discrimination
13 October 2023Media Release
Commission President calls for human rights in Australia to be upheld in wake of Middle East conflict
The President of the Australian Human Rights Commission is calling for respect for human rights to be front of mind for all Australians as the situation in the Middle East continues to worsen. Commission President and Acting Race Discrimination Commissioner Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM said: “The devastating conflict in Israel and Gaza and its horrific civilian fallout is… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
11 May 2023Publication
Wiyi Yani U Thangani Youth Statement 2023
At the historic Wiyi Yani U Thangani, Women’s Voices Summit, we the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Youth Forum representatives share with you Our Youth Statement - Strength from the past and our vision for the future. To our First Nations Matriarchs we say thank you. It is your hands that have held us, nurtured us and empowered us. You have paved the way for the opportunities that… -
Legal
22 March 2024SpeechProbate and Lunatics: A Curious Cameo of Supreme Court History
ANZOA meeting Perspectives on Fairness Meeting of the Minds Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM President, Australian Human Rights Commission Acknowledgment I would like to begin my presentation by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land where I am delivering my presentation today, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation, and pay my respects to the elders, past, present and… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
3 June 2021Speech
Kimberley Remote Community Leaders Forum
Yaningi warangira ngindaji yuwa muwayi ingirranggu, Bunuba yani U. Balangarri wadjirragali jarra ningi – gamali ngindaji yau muwayi nyirrami ngarri thangani. Yaningi miya ngindaji Muwayi ingga winyira ngirranggu thangani. Yathawarra, wilalawarra jalangurru ngarri guda. I acknowledge the Yawuru people of the land we gather on today and I pay my deep respects to elder’s past, present and… -
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…