In November 2023, the High Court ended this dark chapter when it ruled that it is unlawful and unconstitutional for the Australian Government to detain people indefinitely in immigration detention. This has life-changing consequences for people who have been detained for years without knowing if they will ever be released.
Read MoreThanks to the tireless advocacy of the Day family, public intoxication has been decriminalised in Victoria. People who are identified as intoxicated in public will be supported to go to a safe place, like a sobering up centre, instead of being locked in a police cell under criminal or civil police powers.
Read MoreDisinformation is being used as a powerful weapon to gain public support for regressive movements that want to wind-back human rights. The Human Rights Law Centre is pushing for laws to prevent social media companies from amplifying lies and disinformation designed to distort important political debate.
Read MoreTwo years ago yesterday, the ACT Court of Appeal handed down a landmark judgment in defence of truth and transparency in our democracy. There's one problem: to this day it remains secret.
Read MoreThis week’s revelation of secret messages between Home Affairs Secretary Michael Pezzullo and Liberal lobbyist Scott Briggs tell us what we already knew: that, under Pezzullo’s direction, the Department of Home Affairs has grown into a vast, secretive and militarised force exerting extraordinary power over ordinary people seeking to make a home in Australia.
Read MoreIn September 2023, a landmark milestone for equality and reproductive rights was achieved when the Western Australia Parliament finally passed new health-focused abortion laws that will see abortion removed from the state’s criminal laws.
Read MoreWe want a future where everyone has equal access to healthcare. The inclusion of a ban on sex selective abortion in the Abortion Legislation Reform Bill 2023 (the Bill) will have harmful and discriminatory impacts on the health of women, while doing nothing to address the structural issues which cause gender discrimination.
Read MoreFormer army lawyer David McBride will soon face trial accused of leaking classified defence information. What does this say about Australia?
Read MoreThe Project being launched today is a new step in encouraging and supporting these whistleblowers. It is a major initiative in relation to a matter of considerable public importance.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre is assisting Ned Kelly Emeralds in a series of legal challenges that could see people who have sought safety housed in the community, rather than in oppressive detention centres. Ned won the first appeal in the High Court – an important step to securing his freedom.
Read MoreWhistleblowers make the public service a better place. We avoid the next robodebt saga by decreasing the cost of courage and ensuring that those who speak up are protected, not punished.
Read MoreWhat would we not know were it but for brave whistleblowers speaking up? And what do we not know right now because the cost of courage in Australia is too high? These are the questions that keep me awake at night, and they are the reasons the Human Rights Law Centre is this week launching the Whistleblower Project, a new initiative to protect and empower Australian whistleblowers.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has launched the Whistleblower Project, a new initiative to support people who speak out in the public interest.
Read MoreReza Berati was just 23 years old when he was brutally murdered at the Manus Island Detention Centre. Until now, there has been very little justice or accountability. After years of fighting for some measure of justice, Reza’s family have finally settled their claim against the defendants on confidential terms.
Read MoreThe Migrant Workers Centre, Unions NSW, the Human Rights Law Centre, Immigration Advice and Rights Centre, and Migrant Justice Institute have set out the roadmap for strong and robust visa protections for migrant workers in a new report: Not Just Numbers: A Blueprint of Visa Protections for Temporary Migrant Workers.
Read MoreMigrant worker exploitation is happening because of the structural inequalities built into the migration system. Irrespective of visa categories or status, there must be visa security for all.
Read MoreItem 2: Enhanced interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan and the Working Group on discrimination against women and girls
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre is supporting communities in Bougainville to compel Rio Tinto to fund solutions to the environmental and human rights impacts of its former Panguna mine.
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