Australia’s human rights record under scrutiny through 2025-26 UN Universal Periodic Review
PROJECT | United Nations
In January 2026, Australia’s human rights record will face intense scrutiny when the Australian Government appears before the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council in Geneva for its major human rights review, called the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
What is the Universal Periodic Review?
The UPR is a mechanism of the UN Human Rights Council which reviews the human rights records of all 193 nations that are members of the United Nations. It is a state-driven peer review mechanism which happens every four and a half years, meaning that countries interact with other countries, non-government organisations (NGO) and national human rights institutions to have their human rights record scrutinised.
The UPR provides a significant opportunity for Australian NGOs to encourage and influence the Australian Government to improve the protection and promotion of human rights and to fulfill its international legal obligations.
This is also an opportunity for Australia to declare what actions have been taken to fulfil international human rights commitments and obligations.
The Human Rights Law Centre is currently co-ordinating Australian civil society organisations to respond and engage with the Universal Periodic Review in 2025/26.
2025 Joint NGO Shadow Report
The Human Rights Law Centre is leading the process for producing an NGO report reviewing Australia’s performance.
Together with Kingsford Legal Centre; Indigenous People’s Organisation-Australia; and Community Legal Centres Australia, we form the NGO Coordinating Committee. We will produce a shadow report on Australia’s term on the UN Human Rights Council with our partners.
Timeline for the Universal Periodic Review 2025/2026
- 25 June 2025: Civil Society report due
- 1 October 2025: Australian Government ‘National Report’ due
- December 2025/January 2026: Australia’s Review at the UN in Geneva
How Australian NGOs can get involved
Australian NGOs can join the process by contacting us at upr@hrlc.org.au. You can inform the Joint NGO Shadow Report by leading sections of the report relevant to your work, providing expert advice and feedback, and endorsing the final report.
For more information about our Report advocacy process, please contact us at upr@hrlc.org.au.
Acknowledgement of Country
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands across Australia, including the lands of the Wurundjeri, Boon Wurrung, Gadigal, Ngunnawal, Darug and Wadawurrung people where we work from.
We pay our respect to Elders, both past and present.
This land always was, and always will be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land. Sovereignty has never been ceded.
WARNING: This site contains images or names of people who have passed away.