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In my role as Acting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner I am pleased to present the sixth report regarding the enjoyment and exercise of human rights by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia, pursuant to section 46 of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986.

This report presents various responses to Bringing Them Home, the Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families. This is not done to re-open the substance of the Inquiry, its findings or the basis of its recommendations.

The removal of the children from Wave Hill by MacRobertson Miller aircraft was accompanied by distressing scenes the like of which I wish never to experience again. The engines of the 'plane are not stopped at Wave Hill and the noise combined with the strangeness of an aircraft only accentuated the grief and fear of the children, resulting in near-hysteria in two of them. I am convinced that the…

It has been worth it because the wider community is more aware of the issues and our history, but the opening of the old scars has been difficult. It's vital that the truth comes out, though.

You would be hard pressed to find a newspaper, television or radio station that did not make mention of Sorry Day activities and National Reconciliation events over the past week.

We must all face the truth of the past. It lives on in us. We must learn from it and deal with it, so that there may be justice, reconciliation, healing and hope for the future. We therefore recognise this crucial moment in the history of the Canberra Baptist Church as a God given opportunity for us:

We can also investigate complaints about alleged breaches of human rights by the Commonwealth and its agencies, as well as discrimination in employment based on a person’s sexual preference, criminal record, trade union activity, political opinion, religion or social origin.

Australia operates bilateral human rights technical cooperation programs with the Governments of China and Vietnam. These programs are funded by AusAID and managed by the Commission on behalf of the Australian Government.

The Commission, as a legal entity, is constituted by the President and the Commissioners. The President is the senior member of the Commission. The Commission meets every six-to-eight weeks to make its decisions. All meetings are minuted.

We have developed key performance indicators which form the basis for ongoing assessment of the complaint service. These indicators, and our performance in 2010-11 in relation to these indicators, are summarised below. Timeliness. Our stated performance standard is for 80% of complaints to be finalised within 12 months of receipt. In 2010-11, we finalised 94% of matters within 12 months. The…

Appendices Appendix 1 – Total resources and expense for our outcome* Table 37: Resources for outcome Outcome 1 – An Australian society in which human rights are respected, protected and promoted through independent investigation and resolution of complaints, education and research to promote and eliminate discrimination, and monitoring, and reporting on human rights. Budget* 20109–11 $’000…

Appendices Appendix 2 – Complaint statistics Enquiries and complaints received In 2010-11 the Commission received 18 670 enquiries and 2 152 complaints which is similar to the average number of enquiries and complaints received over the past five years. • 38% of complaints were lodged under the Disability Discrimination Act • 21% of complaints were lodged under the Sex Discrimination Act •…

Appendices Appendix 3: Website statistics Table 37: Visitors to the Commission website Section Views of section home page Views of all pages in section Commission homepage 550 170 n/a www.humanrights.gov.au Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice 98 061 1 244 495 https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-island… Age Discrimination 51 836 106 595

Appendices Appendix 4 – Staffing statistics Table 38: Commission staffing profile (as at 30 June 2011) Classification Male Female Full time Part time Total Ongoing Total Non-ongoing Total Statutory Office Holder 2 2 4 4 4 SES Band 2 1 1 1 1 SES Band 1 1 1 2 2 2 EL2 ($99,119 – $119,099) 9 13 17 5 20 2 22 EL1 ($85,941 – $94,243) 6 22 19 9 21 7 28 APS6 ($68,706 – $77,006) 9 25 29 5 26 8 34 APS5…

Appendices Appendix 5 – Consultancy services Table 39: Consultancy services Consultant name Description Contract price Selection process* Justification** Dr Paula Abood Education and training services $36 762 Direct Source B Australian National University Development of human rights-based immigration detention standards $49 500 Direct Source B Elena Campbell Technical writing $28 512 Direct…

Glossary A ACARA The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority is the independent authority responsible for the development of a national curriculum, a national assessment program and a national data collection and reporting program. ADA Age Discrimination Act 2004 AHRCA Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 APF Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions –…

Established in 1986, the Australian Human Rights Commission is a statutory organisation that exercises functions under federal laws that govern age, disability, racial and sex discrimination and human rights and equal opportunity.

Gives effect to Australia’s obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and certain aspects of the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 156.

On 5 November 2009 we hosted the Australian and New Zealand Race Relations Roundtable 2009, highlighting the human rights of international students as a major issue. During the year under review, we directly engaged with over 700 international students and student representatives to identify key human rights issues, participated in numerous government and academic forums focusing on international…

Along with my colleagues at the Australian Human Rights Commission, I began the 2009–10 reporting year awaiting a report from what had been one of the largest public consultations in Australian history, the National Human Rights Consultation.