Charities in Australia will be silenced from speaking publicly on issues in an election, under law reforms announced by the Australian Government. The Prime Minister, the Attorney-General and the Special Minister of State today outlined plans to ban international donations to charities that engage publicly in election issues.

The Australian Government is bracing for another round of intense scrutiny at the United Nations – this time focusing on its efforts to combat racial discrimination.

Today governments across Australia were handed a comprehensive roadmap to fix our broken youth justice systems and stop the abuse of children in youth jails.  Shahleena Musk, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Centre, welcomed the Royal Commission’s recommendations and said now is the time for decisive action.

Australians have overwhelmingly voted Yes to the question of whether LGBTI Australians can marry the person they love. 61.6% of people who voted in the marriage equality postal survey voted Yes. 133 out of 150 electorates voted Yes.

Australia was condemned overnight by a UN Human Rights Committee for its human rights record on a range of issues including refugees, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ rights, youth justice and democratic freedoms.

A threatening notice posted inside the Manus Island Regional Processing Centre (RPC) today has warned refugees detained there for the last four and a half years that from the 31 October, all food, water and electricity will be disconnected, the fences will come down and the facility will be handed over to the PNG Defence Forces.

The High Court of Australia has ruled that key provisions of Tasmania’s excessive anti-protest legislation are invalid because they violate the implied freedom of political communication in the Australian Constitution.The Executive Director of the Human Rights Law Centre, Hugh de Kretser, said the decision was a big win for democracy in Australia.

“This is the most significant UN position Australia has sought since the Security Council. Relatively speaking Australia is likely to be a positive force for reform on the Council, but if it wants to have the credibility required to be a true human rights leader it can't continue to blatantly breach international law itself. There's no doubt that it's cruel treatment of refugees will hamstring Australia's efforts on Council," said Emily Howie.

We welcome the Queensland Government’s important step to help people whose love was criminalised by unjust laws. It’s not only a symbolic win, it will also remove practical barriers imposed by these unfair convictions.

In a joint statement to the UN Human Rights Council, the Aboriginal Peak Organisations NT and Human Rights Law Centre urged the Australian Government to abandon its racially discriminatory ‘Community Development Program’ and replace it with an Aboriginal-led model.

After four years of fear and violence, a small handful of people finally received some good news. But this doesn't close the dark chapter in our history — not until every single man, woman and child tormented on Nauru and Manus Island is safe.

The United Nations has been asked to urgently intervene to halt the Australian Government’s moves to make refugees and people seeking asylum destitute as a means of coercing them to return to danger and harm on Nauru or Manus Island.