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Commission – General
22 March 2024SpeechAALA Harmony Day and IWD
Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM FAAL Acknowledgements [Thank you to Clayton Utz and to Dora Cheung, AALA] Let me begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet, the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation and pay my respect to Elders, past, present and emerging. I was invited to this event to celebrate Harmony Day, and also to connect the recent celebration… -
Age Discrimination
29 September 2023Opinion pieceReaching across generations brings benefits for everyone
By Commission President and Acting Age Discrimination Commissioner, Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM Every year on the International Day of Older Persons (IDOP), the world comes together to celebrate and reflect on the contributions of older people in our communities. This year’s IDOP theme is ‘Fulfilling the Promises of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights for Older Persons… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
2 April 2024Media ReleaseKatie Kiss commences as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner
Australia’s new Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Katie Kiss, said in the wake of the devastating outcome of last year’s Voice referendum, Australia must consider the next steps, and prioritise finding ways to heal and soothe divisions. This includes making meaningful progress in addressing the systemic and structural discrimination experienced by First… -
Disability Rights
30 April 2024Webpage‘Meet the Experts’ Video Campaign
Watch these videos exploring and celebrating the skills, knowledge and experience Australians with disability bring to their workplaces. -
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… -
Rights and Freedoms
3 May 2024Opinion pieceWe need debate on sensible limits on free speech
When president Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the 1941 State of the Union address he spoke of four essential human freedoms people “everywhere in the world” ought to enjoy. The very first of these was freedom of speech and expression. Free speech was listed first because it is the bedrock of democracy. Salman Rushdie famously described it as “the whole thing, the whole ball game. Free speech is… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
19 April 2024News story
Inspection report: “serious concerns” at Yongah Hill Detention Centre
An inspection report by the Australian Human Rights Commission has found that a high-security immigration detention centre in Western Australia was, in part, “no longer fit for purpose”, and raised serious concerns over safety conditions and the level of care for detainees and staff. The Yongah Hill Immigration Detention Centre Inspection Report followed a two-day inspection of the adult… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
28 September 2023Opinion piece
The referendum is Australia’s gateway moment
Read Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, June Oscar's op-ed in support of the Voice Referendum, published in The Guardian Australia. "We’ve been advocating for a permanent representative body for decades. My old people wanted this. My family in remote Australia facing unbelievable struggles daily want this." -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
28 November 2022Media Release
New report sets the stage for First Nations women to lead response to family and community violence
The report is an outcome of the recent Wiyi Yani U Thangani First Nations Women's Safety Policy Forum which was held virtually in September and which brought together over 150 participants from all around the country, the majority being First Nations women. -
Technology and Human Rights
16 May 2023Opinion piece
Chatbot Race must not be Run with Blinkers on
Learn more about the risks of developing generative artificial intelligence products with disregard for human rights. -
Sex Discrimination
23 March 2022News storyMedia statement: Release of 2021 National Student Safety Survey Report
A statement from Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins: Sexual harassment and sexual assault remain far too prevalent in the Australian community. Women, young people and intersectional groups face unacceptably higher risk of this conduct at home, at work, online and in education, including in universities. The Australian university sector took a leadership position when it came… -
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
9 November 2023Media Release
Commission commends High Court ruling on indefinite immigration detention
The Australian Human Rights Commission has welcomed yesterday’s High Court ruling which determined that Australia’s system of indefinite immigration detention is unlawful. The landmark decision overturns almost two decades of the practice by Australian authorities in finding it is unlawful to hold a person in immigration detention when there is no real prospect of them being removed from… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
18 March 2022Opinion piece
We will not sit down or stand to the side
OPINION There are moments in history where the forces of what has come before and the energy of the present reconfigure the social and political landscape. In Australia and around the globe, reckoning with misogyny and the interrelated issues of systemic racism and patriarchal destruction has been centuries in the making. On Tuesday, on International Women’s Day, a new play by Victoria… -
Technology and Human Rights
28 February 2024Opinion piece
Let’s not elevate brain tech over our humanity
Learn more about how Neuralink's successful implantation could raise human rights issues about neurotechnology. -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
1 June 2021Speech
AIATSIS Summit Keynote Address: Truth for change—Reckoning with our past and transforming our nation
Introduction and acknowledgements Opening in Bunuba. Good morning everyone. I acknowledge the Kaurna peoples whose lands we gather on for this conference—I pay my respects to your elders, past, present and emerging. I also acknowledge all our peoples who have come from countries—First Nations—from across this vast continent, carrying many diverse and interconnected languages, cultural… -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
8 September 2023Speech
ICOMOS General Assembly and Scientific Symposium GA2023
Jalangurru lanygu balangarri - good afternoon everyone. Yaningi warangira ngindaji yuwa muwayi ingirranggu, Gadigal 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. For those of you who do not know me, my name is June Oscar. I am -
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
24 May 2023News story
Uluru Statement ‘cannot be ignored’
Australia’s human rights bodies tell political leaders: Uluru Statement ‘cannot be ignored’ Australia’s federal, state and territory human rights bodies have urged political leaders to work across party lines to deliver Constitutional reform for Australia’s First Peoples. In a joint letter, the Australian Council of Human Rights Authorities (ACHRA) says the Uluru Statement from the Heart … -
Age Discrimination
3 July 2024Speech
Keynote Address to the Law Council of Australia
Mr Robert Fitzgerald AM, Age Discrimination Commissioner Friday, 31 May 2024 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY Introduction I would like to thank the Law Council of Australia for this invitation to speak at your National Elder Law and Succession Law Committee meeting, and to your committee chair, Darryl Browne, for introducing me. I wish to acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation as the… -
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… -
11 February 2021Conciliation register
2020-02-11
The complainant worked for the respondent real estate agency and alleged her manager sexually harassed her, including by touching her on the legs and thighs, massaging her shoulders and making sexually explicit comments. She alleged that after she complained about the conduct, the agency victimised her by removing her from two projects as lead agent and performance managing her. She further …