Latest News

The Human Rights Law Centre has expressed alarm about an expansive new law proposed by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton that would give federal police invasive powers to takeover people’s online accounts and monitor online activity.

Australia’s human rights performance was in the spotlight tonight as the Australian Government appeared before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva for its major human rights review that happens every four to five years.

Australia’s human rights performance will be in the spotlight tonight as the Australian Government appears before the Human Rights Council in Geneva for its major human rights review that happens every four to five years.

The Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed Attorney-General Christian Porter’s announcement that the Federal Government intends to overhaul current whistleblower protection laws and has called on the Government to commit to introducing and consulting on proposed changes early in the new year.

Leading civil society groups have condemned recommendations from a Coalition-controlled parliamentary committee as weakening the fairness and equality of Australia’s elections.

Afghan and Australian human rights organisations have welcomed the release of the report of the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Afghanistan (IGADF) Inquiry, led by Justice Paul Brereton, into alleged war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan and have called on the Australian Government to now move swiftly to implement its recommendations and establish a proper redress mechanism for victims.

Reform is needed to ensure politicians put the interests of people, our planet, and future generations before those of big political donors, a Parliamentary Committee will hear today.

The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has made bi-partisan recommendations for the scaling back of Australia’s controversial metadata retention regime.

The Human Rights Law Centre today said that human rights scrutiny of Victoria’s curfew was welcome and required.

The Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed the compromise reached in the Victorian Parliament to enable the passage of legislation to continue the Victorian Government’s emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic for a further six months.

A long awaited report from a Parliamentary committee has recognised the need for significant legal changes to protect public interest journalism, however the recommendations don’t go far enough to ensure journalists are not sent to prison for doing their job.

The Human Rights Law Centre’s Executive Director, Hugh de Kretser today gave evidence to the COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry covering his personal experience of hotel quarantine and outlining the human rights obligations for the Victorian Government under Victoria’s Charter of Human Rights.

The Victorian Government is requiring people in Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire to wear a face covering or mask when leaving their home to help stop the spread of COVID-19. This explainer seeks to debunk claims that the requirement breaches people’s human rights.

The Human Rights Law Centre today responded to misguided claims made over the weekend that the requirement to wear masks in public in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire breached human rights.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s decision to cancel the first August Parliamentary sitting period will hinder the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and risks undermining Australians’ trust in our leadership at a crucial time.

The Human Rights Law Centre has told the Senate Committee tasked with investigating the Federal Government's response to COVID-19 that human rights must be at the centre of the Government’s actions, both now and into the future.

Yesterday, the Australian Federal Police referred ABC journalist Dan Oaks, the journalist behind the Afghan Files, to the Commonwealth DPP to consider laying charges. The journalist’s stories, which uncovered alleged war crimes by Australian troops, prompted the AFP to raid the ABC’s headquarters last year, a move which was resoundingly condemned by journalists and the public.

The Palaszczuk Government is today expected to pass laws to limit political donations and spending in Queensland elections, with new amendments in place to ensure charities will still be able to advocate on issues like family violence, homelessness and protecting the environment.

Today seven legal and human rights groups condemned the approach of many Australian governments to recent Black Lives Matter and refugee rights protests, stating it is inconsistent with our democratic rights and freedoms.

Fourteen members of the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO) including the Human Rights Law Centre express deep concern over the escalation in police responses to protests in the USA over the past week.

Six civil society groups are today calling on the NSW State Parliament to immediately reconvene regular sittings, in a way that is safe, so it can debate and address important matters of public concern.

Australia’s ranking in the World Press Freedom Index has fallen by five places in the latest annual assessment from Reporters Without Borders to 26th place behind countries such as Ireland, Uruguay, Germany, and Latvia.

Today the High Court unanimously ruled that the warrant relied on by the Australian Federal Police to raid the home of News Corporation journalist Annika Smethurst was invalid, and the raid was therefore unlawful. However laws that criminalise public interest reporting remain in place, leaving journalists and whistleblowers exposed to police investigation and prosecution.

The Human Rights Law Centre welcomed the Senate’s vote today to establish a cross-party Senate Select Committee to provide democratic oversight and scrutiny of the Morrison Government’s response to the COVID-19 public health emergency.

Human rights and privacy experts have called on Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt to explain privacy and surveillance issues arising from the Federal Government’s recently launched Coronavirus Australia app. The app has been downloaded over 500,000 times in Australia, yet there is little publicly available information about what data is being collected from people and how that private information is being used and kept safe.

Eight legal and civil society groups have today called on the Australian Senate to establish a Select Committee with broad powers to review and report on the Federal Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Limits on the amount of money political parties, candidates and campaigners can spend on elections are needed to restore trust in democracy and achieve greater political equality, a Parliamentary Committee will hear today.

Laws that require telecommunication companies to keep records of every single Australian’s phone calls, text messages and movements for at least two years must be amended to prevent the indiscriminate invasion of people’s privacy, a Parliamentary Committee heard today.

“Queensland has a historic opportunity to have the best laws in the country for regulating the influence of money in politics. But first, the proposed laws need significant amendment to ensure not only that charities can continue to speak up, but that big corporate spending is reined in,” said Alice Drury.

The Australian Electoral Commission today released data revealing how much each political party and campaigners spent in the 2019 Federal election, and the donations used to fund those campaigns.