A legal defence that discriminates against gay and bisexual men may soon be repealed after South Australian Attorney-General Vickie Chapman expressed support for the removal of the so-called ‘gay panic defence’.
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The Northern Territory Supreme Court has today held that the now repealed Alcohol Protection Order (APO) regime was valid and not in breach of the Commonwealth Racial Discrimination Act.
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The Human Rights Law Centre is deeply committed to the realisation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ human rights in Australia, as a vital component of our broader mission to protect and promote human rights in Australia and in Australian activities overseas.
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New laws proposed by the Department of Home Affairs would authorise the creation of a “dragnet database”, compiling images of innocent Australians – including children – from their drivers’ licences, identification cards and passport photos.
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Laws that protect the dignity, safety and privacy of women seeking reproductive healthcare should be upheld the Human Rights Law Centre has argued in a submission to the High Court today.
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The importance of a woman's right to safely and privately access reproductive health services has been recognised by the NSW Legislative Council with the passing of a bill that would guarantee safe access zones around abortion clinics.
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Transgender Victorians will now be able to stay married to the person they love when they change the gender on their birth certificate with the Andrews Government passing new laws overnight. A similar bill is being introduced in the NSW parliament today.
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He has been denied his liberty, denied his personal security and denied his most fundamental of human rights. But he has defiantly refused to be denied his voice. We were honoured to have Behrouz Boochani deliver our Sydney Human Rights Dinner keynote address from Manus Island.
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The Australian Government has the opportunity to ensure all Australians are treated with fairness and equality with the findings of the Religious Freedom Review presented to the Prime Minister today.
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The Ian Potter Foundation has announced Ruth Barson, Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, a recipient of their annual international study grant.
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The Australian Government has told yet another group of up to 90 refugees and people seeking asylum that they will be evicted from their homes and will be cut off from all income support.
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The safety, wellbeing and dignity of women seeking reproductive health services is a step closer to being protected in New South Wales through a bill that would guarantee safe access zones around abortion clinics.
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The need for fair pay for work in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities has finally been acknowledged by the Federal Government but Budget measures outlined for its remote work for the dole scheme fall well-short of realising this in practice.
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Children in the Northern Territory will be better protected from Don Dale-like abuse behind bars with the Gunner Government today passing landmark laws that will prohibit harm to children. The laws will solidify key recommendations of the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of Children in the Northern Territory.
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The Northern Territory Government will today deliver a formal state apology to people convicted under historic laws against homosexual acts. Chief Minister Michael Gunner will issue the apology.
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The growing threat to press freedom posed by laws that fail to properly protect journalists and their sources has been highlighted by a new report by the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance.
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After a week of intense negotiations, the Western Australian Government has avoided urgent Supreme Court action by allowing a newborn Aboriginal baby to remain with her mother.
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On the eve of the fifth anniversary of the tragic Rana Plaza factory collapse, twelve prominent Australian organisations have united to call on Australian brands that are lagging behind the rest of the industry to sign the 2018 Bangladesh Fire and Safety Accord, developed in the wake of the building collapse that claimed the lives of more than 1100 workers in Bangladesh on 24 April 2013.
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As of today, Australia has adoption equality.
All adult couples have an equal right to adopt children, after the adoption equality bill which passed a month ago in the Northern Territory finally became law today.
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Statistics released this week reveal the Gunner Government is sending more men and women to prison than ever before – a direct result of Chief Minister Gunner’s failure to repeal mandatory sentencing laws.
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A report released by the Independent Inspector of Custodial Services has detailed horrific conditions and treatment in Western Australia’s only youth jail, Banksia Hill. The Inspector has called on the McGowan Government to take urgent action.
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The Human Rights Law Centre welcomed a Parliamentary Committee report which recognises major problems in the Turnbull Government’s foreign donations bill as it applies to third parties (individuals and organisations that do not stand for office).
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From today, the Tasmanian Parliament will provide a way for people convicted under unjust laws against homosexual acts to have these charges removed from their criminal records.
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An avalanche of news stories from people who have experienced excessive force, racist policing or other police misconduct, and tried unsuccessfully to make complaints, provide a shocking glimpse into the failings of Victoria's police complaints system.
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Australian governments must work together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and organisations to address one of the most significant human rights issues in Australia – the over-imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
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The Australian Government has joined 44 other nations in delivering a scathing statement to the United Nations Human Rights Council overnight on the rapid deterioration of Cambodia’s human rights situation, expressing "deep concern about the recent serious decline of civil and political rights in Cambodia".
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Today the Northern Territory Attorney-General, Natasha Fyles, introduced a bill to allow people charged under unjust laws against homosexual acts to remove the convictions from their criminal records.
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In a submission to the Queensland Law Reform Commission’s inquiry into abortion laws, the Human Rights Law Centre has called for the decriminalisation of abortion and for new laws that respect women’s right to choose what happens to their bodies.
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Proposed amendments to the Turnbull Government’s secrecy laws are a step in the right direction but don’t go far enough, the Human Rights Law Centre told a parliamentary committee this morning.
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In a statement delivered in the United Nations overnight, the Human Rights Law Centre has called on the UN Human Rights Council to hold the Turnbull Government accountable for the continued suffering of 1800 refugees still languishing on Manus and Nauru after almost five years.
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As the United Nations debates Eritrea’s troubled human rights record, an Australian mining company has taken the extraordinary step of appearing with the Eritrean regime to help it defend its actions.
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New adoption equality laws allowing same-sex couples to adopt children passed the Northern Territory parliament. Until today, the NT was the only remaining Australian state or territory that prevented same-sex and unmarried couples from adopting children. Previously, couples were required to be married for two years before they could adopt.
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"Time and time again we see our Government getting all mealy-mouthed about global humanitarian emergencies when the country in question has some connection with its own refugee policies" - Our Daniel Webb reports from last night's important session of the UN Human Rights Council focusing on the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Myanmar.
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In a statement to the United Nations, Human Rights Law Centre has called on the Turnbull Government to hold companies to account for human rights violations overseas.
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Overnight the Australian Government delivered a major 'incoming members pledge' to the UN Human Rights Council, promising to approach it’s three year term on the Council "in a spirit of self-reflection with a view to improving our own human rights situation" and to "make progress in the promotion, protection and realisation of human rights", "including through implementation of [UN] recommendations and resolutions."
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A damning Victorian Parliamentary report into youth justice released yesterday shows the Andrews Government is harming children in its care by forcing them into solitary confinement.Ruth Barson, Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre, said that starving a child of human contact is one of the most damaging things we can do and the Government should prohibit it outright.
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Today the Queensland Government introduced a bill that will allow people to stay married to the person they love when they change the gender marker on their birth certificate, removing an unnecessary and unfair hurdle preventing trans people from living their true lives.
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In response to serious concerns about the harshness and breadth of the Government’s proposed secrecy laws, the Commonwealth Attorney-General, Christian Porter, has unveiled amendments to improve the protections available to journalists who publish potentially sensitive government information.
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The Turnbull Government is trying to pass laws that will lock charities and community groups out of public policy debates. We need your help to push back.
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One day after the Northern Territory Government gave an in principle promise to raise the age of criminal responsibility, the Australian Bureau of Statistics has released data painting a diabolical picture of punitive and out-of-date youth justice systems across Australia.
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The Turnbull Government’s anti-democratic slide has been criticised at the United Nations Human Rights Council overnight, with the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders delivering a major report on Australian democracy.
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The Northern Territory today became the first government to commit to raising the age at which children can be charged and sent to prison.
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The Turnbull Government will tonight begin Australia’s first ever session as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the UN body responsible for protecting the rights and dignity of people all over the world.
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Outdated laws allowing religious organisations to discriminate against single mothers, pregnant women or LGBTI people should be repealed, the Human Rights Law Centre today told the Religious Freedom Review’s Expert Panel.
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The closure of the NT's notorious Don Dale youth prison couldn’t come soon enough, but the Turnbull Government needs to help fund the creation of safe, home-like facilities built for children to replace it.
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"Last year Australians voted for equality and fairness, not new forms of discrimination. There is no price to be paid for equality, we reject outright that religious freedom is now under threat simply because two people who love each other can marry," said Anna Brown.
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Queenslanders are one step closer to having their human rights protected in law, following confirmation from the Attorney-General Yvette D'Ath that the Queensland Government is moving ahead with establishing a Human Rights Act.
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After nearly five years of fear, violence and limbo, 22 refugees yesterday left Nauru to fly to safety in the United States as part of the US refugee resettlement deal. However, over 1800 people - including 150 children - are still languishing in desperate and dangerous conditions across Manus and Nauru.
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The Federal Government has completely failed to lead in its response to the Northern Territory Royal Commission’s report on how to fix failing youth justice and child protection systems.Shahleena Musk, a Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, said the Federal Government was trying to wash its hands of responsibility at the very time it needed to show leadership to fix broken youth justice systems across Australia.
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Australian Governments must prohibit the solitary confinement of children in detention and closely regulate practices that can result in the forced isolation or segregation of a child. So what is solitary confinement?
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Today the International Commission of Jurists, Victoria announced Daniel Webb, Director of Legal Advocacy with the Human Rights Law Centre, as the winner of the 2018 John Gibson Award for his work defending the rights of refugees and people seeking asylum.
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The Northern Territory Government has an historic opportunity to overhaul outdated discrimination laws so that all Territorians are equally respected for who they are, said the Human Rights Law Centre in its submission to the NT Department of Justice review of the Anti-Discrimination Act 2015 (NT).
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The Australian Government’s proposed legislation to overhaul Australia’s secrecy laws is excessive and poorly designed, the Human Rights Law Centre has told the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.
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“Charities have enormous expertise to contribute to public debates. Whether it’s running a homeless shelter or a community health service – charities are uniquely placed to understand how government policies impact on the people and communities they serve. The Government should be encouraging charities to participate in public discussions, not making it harder for them,” said Hugh de Kretser.
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After nearly five years of fear and violence on Manus Island approximately 40 men are today flying to safety to the United States as part of the US resettlement deal. For the people left behind, in the Australian Government’s offshore detention centres, hope is running out.
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We currently have two roles available in the Human Rights Law Centre's (HRLC) Asylum Seeker and Refugee Rights Unit.
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