Australia falls short on its aim to lead global abolition of the death penalty

“Under current laws and guidelines, if the Bali 9 case happened again today, nothing would prevent the AFP from acting in the same way. Yesterday’s announcement of amending AFP guidelines does not change that. If the government were serious about prohibiting information sharing it would legislate to prevent it from happening,” said Emily Howie.

Read More
No case to change Australia’s racial vilification laws

“The push to weaken the laws by some has run aground. It’s hard to imagine what those pushing for change want people to be able to say that they currently can’t. Any move to weaken the law itself would have sent a green light to racism,” said the Human Rights Law Centre’s Director of Legal Advocacy, Adrianne Walters.

Read More
Royal Commission hearing regarding abuse of children the Australian Government holds on Nauru

“Any scrutiny of the Australian Government’s role in harming innocent children in its care is vital, welcome and overdue. After three and a half years of abuse, fear and limbo, we already know that warehousing kids in offshore facilities is inherently harmful,” said the Executive Director of the Human Rights Law Centre, Hugh de Kretser.

Read More
Adoption equality now a reality for South Australians

Today new adoption equality laws came into effect in South Australia allowing same-sex couples to adopt children in the state. South Australian law previously restricted adoption to married or de facto heterosexual couples.

Same-sex couples can now jointly adopt children across Australia in every state and territory except the Northern Territory.

Read More
HRLC AdminLGBTI Rights
Serious assault on 16 year old boy further evidence that no child belongs in an adult prison

Tonight’s ABC 7.30 episode detailing the serious assault on a 16-year old boy is further evidence that the Victorian Government must immediately act to remove children from Victoria’s most notorious adult jail. The boy suffered a fractured vertebrae and serious injuries to his face and head after being assaulted by fellow inmates on Monday.

Read More
Government’s decision to regazette Barwon an extraordinary act of bad faith

The Government’s decision to regazette Barwon adult jail as a youth justice facility is an act of utter bad faith, say human rights lawyers.

Only yesterday the Victorian Court of Appeal upheld the Supreme Court’s decision that the Victorian Government acted unlawfully in gazetting Barwon adult prison as a youth justice facility.

Read More
Media Release: Court of Appeal confirms transfer of children to Barwon adult jail was unlawful

The Victorian Court of Appeal today unanimously confirmed that the Victorian Government acted unlawfully in transferring children to the Barwon adult jail. The Court was hearing an appeal against last week's Supreme Court ruling.

Hugh de Kretser, Executive Director at the Human Rights Law Centre, said, “Jailing children in the state’s most notorious adult prison was a terrible mistake. The government needs to house these children in a safe, lawful and appropriate facility.”

Read More
Court of Appeal to rule on legality of transfer of children to Barwon adult jail

The Victorian Court of Appeal will tomorrow hear the appeal against last week’s Supreme Court ruling that the Victorian Government acted unlawfully in transferring children to the Barwon adult jail. The Court of Appeal is expected to make its decision on the appeal at the end of tomorrow’s hearing.

Read More
Supreme Court case to stop children being sent to Barwon adult jail commences

The Supreme Court will today commence hearing the case against the Victorian Government to ensure no child is sent to Barwon maximum security adult jail. The Human Rights Law Centre and Fitzroy Legal Service are bringing the case after the government two weeks ago agreed not to transfer any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander children to the prison.

Read More
LGBTIQ advocates welcome equality reform in SA Parliament, but have concern over amendments

The South Australian upper house has passed a suite of bills that will advance equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) South Australians. The bills proposed a range of reforms including recognizing the relationships and families of same-sex couples and improved access to birth certificates for transgender and intersex people.

Read More
LGBTIQ community welcome equality reforms for gender identity in SA parliament

The South Australian upper house has passed a suite of bills that will be an enormous advance towards equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) South Australians. The bills proposed a range of reforms including recognizing the relationships and families of same-sex couples and improved access to birth certificates for transgender and intersex people.

Read More
Further details of Victorian Government’s settlement with the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service

FURTHER DETAILS: As part of the last minute back down, the Victorian Government has committed not to transfer any Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child to an adult jail. The only extremely limited possibility for transfers is in exceptional circumstances and, even then, only on the advice of the Aboriginal Children’s Commissioner that the transfer is in the best interests of that child.

Read More
Incredible opportunity to work in our Indigenous Rights Unit

We are currently seeking a Senior Policy Advocate for a 9 month parental leave backfill position. The Senior Policy Advocate will lead the Unit’s work in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ over-imprisonment, particularly young peoples’ over-imprisonment, alongside the Unit’s Director and Lawyer.

Read More
MichelleBennett
Exciting opportunity to join the Human Rights Law Centre

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an experienced lawyer and advocate. We are currently seeking a Director of Advocacy to lead our work on business and human rights. The successful candidate will also be required to work on our other strategic priority areas and assume a leadership role within the organisation, in particular by managing aspects of the centre’s legal practice in its Melbourne office.

Read More
MichelleBennett
Queensland commits to a Human Rights Act

In October 2016, Queensland Premier Anastasia Palaszczuk announced at state conference her cabinet’s commitment to introduce a Human Rights Act in Queensland. If passed, Queensland will become the third Australian jurisdiction to protect and promote human rights in law. The announcement comes of the back of a community campaign for human rights protection in Queensland.

Read More
UN warns of diminishing democratic freedoms in Australia

Australia is failing to provide a safe and free environment for civil society and to ensure that people are free to speak out and peacefully protest on issues that they care about, said a UN Human Rights expert today. Michel Forst, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, has been in Australia for a two-week official visit, meeting with government, MPs and civil society organisations.

Read More
Support a strong voice for a healthy democracy

Unfortunately, we are witnessing the unmistakeable trend of governments chipping away at many of our vital democratic foundations. Press freedom is being undermined, critical voices are being stifled and governments are eroding the right of Australians to gather and speak out about issues that they care about.

Read More
MichelleBennett
Expungement Legal Service – free legal help for people found guilty of historic homosexual offences

The HRLC's Expungement Legal Service can assist people to apply for historical convictions for decriminalised homosexual activity to be expunged. We provide free and confidential legal help to anyone affected by these laws in Victoria. Our team is staffed by LGBTIQ identifying lawyers and includes a volunteer lawyer with personal experience of the climate and police attitudes before the old laws were repealed.

Read More
The Victorian Government delivers an apology that rights historical wrongs

Rights groups have applauded the Victorian Government for today's formal state apology to people convicted under unjust laws against homosexual acts. The Human Rights Law Centre’s Director of Advocacy, Anna Brown welcomed Premier Daniel Andrews’ heartfelt speech and said the apology recognises the harm that these discriminatory laws have caused

Read More
Time for the Western Australian Government to scrap its policy of locking people up for unpaid fines

Western Australia’s Independent Inspector of Custodial Services released a damning report on Friday showing that Western Australia’s policy of locking people up for unpaid fines disproportionately impacts vulnerable Aboriginal women.

The Human Rights Law Centre’s Senior Lawyer, Ruth Barson, said that the Inspector’s report is another reminder that Western Australia’s policy of locking people up for unpaid fines is unfair and out of date.

Read More
Business and human rights

Business can have a significant impact on the human rights of people in countries where they operate, particularly where those countries have weak regulatory and governance systems. Where Australian businesses are responsible for human rights abuses, it is vital that they are held accountable and that victims are able to access a remedy.

Read More
Australia fails to address serious concerns in major UN review

The Australian Government’s response overnight at the UN in Geneva to a major review of its human rights record has failed to address the serious concerns raised by the international community.

Read More
WA urged to scrap practice of locking people up for unpaid fines as coronial inquest recommences into Ms Dhu’s death in police custody

With the coronial inquest into Ms Dhu’s tragic death in police custody recommencing on Monday, family members and human rights lawyers are urging the Western Australian Government to urgently scrap the practice of locking people up for unpaid fines.

Read More
Reform needed to better protect whistleblowers who reveal human rights abuses

Whistleblowers who reveal human rights abuses face the risk of prosecution and jail and require much greater legal protection, said the Human Rights Law Centre in a submission to the review of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth). The Act is currently being reviewed by former Integrity Commissioner Philip Moss for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Read More
Law Reform Commission report a wake up call to restore basic rights and freedoms in Australia

The Australian Government should remove unjustified limits on basic rights and freedoms in Australia, said the Human Rights Law Centre today. HRLC Director of Advocacy and Research, Emily Howie, welcomed the Australian Law Reform Commission’s report, Traditional Rights and Freedoms – Encroachments on Commonwealth Laws, that adds to the growing evidence of Australian laws that infringe on rights. Read More

Human Rights Law Centre welcomes Victorian Premier’s leadership and Victoria’s offer to take 267 facing deportation

The Human Rights Law Centre’s Director of Legal Advocacy, Daniel Webb, has welcomed news that the Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, has written to the Prime Minister explaining that he wants the 267 men, women and children facing deportation following this week's High Court decision, to call Victoria home.

Read More
Statement from HRLC and GetUp

The child at the centre of rape allegations is not a client of the Human Rights Law Centre and is not one of the 267 people linked to last week’s High Court challenge. Neither the HRLC or GetUp was involved in the decision to take the story to the media.

Read More
MichelleBennett
Stop locking up women who are in family violence situations, says Ms Dhu’s family on White Ribbon Day

The coronial inquest into Ms Dhu’s tragic death in police custody has heard that Ms Dhu was in a violent relationship with her partner, Dion Ruffin, at the time of her arrest. Mr Ruffin was taken into custody together with Ms Dhu and was known to police as someone with a violent criminal history.

Read More
Australia should ensure opposition to the death penalty is reflected in foreign policy and international police cooperation

Australia must ensure that its opposition to the death penalty is consistently reflected across all its laws, policies and practices, the Human Rights Law Centre has told the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade’s Human Rights Sub-Committee. The Sub-Committee is currently inquiring into Australia’s advocacy for abolition of the death penalty.

Read More
International community condemns Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers during major human rights review at UN

Australia’s treatment of asylum seekers received unprecedented condemnation from the international community as the Government appeared before the Human Rights Council in Geneva overnight for its major four yearly human rights review in a process known as the ‘Universal Periodic Review’.

Read More
Australia in the hot seat at UN human rights review in Geneva

Australia’s human rights performance will face intense scrutiny next week as the Government appears before the Human Rights Council in Geneva for its major four yearly human rights review. At the "Universal Periodic Review" (UPR) other countries will have the opportunity to question Australia about its human rights record and make a series of recommendations for improvement.

Read More
Unlocking Community: Community-led Initiatives to Reduce Indigenous Over-Imprisonment

In 2014 the HRLC’s Ben Schokman was awarded a nine-month Myer Innovation Fellowship to research and design new and innovative approaches to address the over-imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia. The fellowship involved examining “justice reinvestment” initiatives operating overseas and considering their potential application in the Australian context.

Read More
Australia needs to lift its game to strengthen its bid for a seat on the UN's Human Rights Council

The HRLC has joined with Human Rights Watch to produce a report detailing how Australia can “lift its game” on human rights at home and abroad in order to strengthen its bid for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Read More
Urgent UN intervention sought on the mistreatment of young people in NT youth justice facility

The Human Rights Law Centre has sent an urgent request to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment to investigate the mistreatment of young people (under 18 years) in Don Dale Youth Detention Centre, the Northern Territory’s main youth justice facility.

Read More
Judgment in Melbourne Fertility Control Clinic case highlights need for safe access zones

A Melbourne abortion clinic is looking to Spring Street to create safe access zones after the Supreme Court of Victoria this morning found that whilst the Melbourne City Council had made mistakes in the way it dealt with the clinic, it would not be compelled to take action to prevent women being harassed and intimidated as they entered the clinic.

Read More
Australian National Contact Point rejects complaint against G4S

The Human Rights Law Centre and Rights and Accountability in Development (RAID) have written to the Australian National Contact Point (ANCP) expressing disappointment at the ANCP’s decision not to investigate our complaint concerning G4S Australia Pty Ltd relation to conditions and abuse of asylum seekers detained at the Manus Regional Processing Centre.

Read More
A coffee with… Sally Goldner

Sally Goldner is Executive Director of Transgender Victoria, Treasurer of Bisexual Alliance Victoria and the presenter of “Out of the Pan”, a weekly radio show on 3CR covering pansexual issues. Editor-at-large of Right Now, Andre Dao, recently had a quick chat with her about her activism.

Read More