Human rights are fundamental to our lives.

Human rights ensure that every person, no matter who we are or where we come from, can live a life with dignity and freedom, protected and enforced by the law. But governments are increasingly treating people with impunity and eroding the freedoms we live with every day.

The Albanese Government has been re-elected with an enormous opportunity to strengthen our human rights and create a fairer future for everyone.

Human rights progress is possible

From implementing an Australian Human Rights Act, to banning goods made by forced labour, to ending cruel policies like offshore detention and locking up children through Australia’s very low age of criminal responsibility – we will continue to push the Albanese Government to be bold and progress human rights in this next Parliament.

We’re calling on the Albanese Government to:

1. Introduce an Australian Human Rights Act so that the human rights are always at the heart of all government decisions, laws, and services.
2. Raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14, without exception so that every child can grow up healthy, happy and connected with their friends, families, and communities.
3. Ensure all prisons and detention centres in Australia have proper independent oversight to prevent abuse like solitary confinement, spit hoods and unnecessary strip searches.
4. End modern slavery and exploitation in Australian supply chains to ensure all companies respect human rights wherever they operate and are held accountable if they fail to do so.
5. Ban goods made with forced labour to keep our modern slavery laws strong and ensure businesses aren’t profiting from worker exploitation.
6. Protect whistleblowers by fixing the laws that see whistleblowers prosecuted for exposing wrongdoing, and establishing an independent Whistleblower Protection Authority.
7. Introduce a digital duty of care to ensure big tech and social media companies are required to keep everyone safe online on their platforms.
8. Grant permanent visas to everyone failed by the ‘Fast Track’ asylum system, or who were subjected to offshore processing.
9. Strengthen visa protections to everyone on temporary visas who is covered by the Workplace Justice visa, and abolish the restrictive ‘no work’ conditions that exclude people on Bridging visas from safe and decent work.
10. Protect communities most impacted by the climate crisis by guaranteeing access and funding to climate-safe homes, particularly in remote First Nations communities.

Human rights, fairness and equality should be at the heart of all government decision making.