Thanks 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 MoreFrom Malaysian workers forced to work around the clock to make PPE, to migrant workers trapped in shocking conditions on Australian farms, many companies continue to turn a blind eye to exploitation and abuse in their supply chains. Our team advocates for stronger laws to end modern slavery.
Read MoreTemporary migrants are not simply numbers on the national balance of payments. Nor are they passive victims who require law makers to step in and take responsibility for their lives. They are people who are an integral part of our community.
Read MoreSA’s proposed anti-protest laws in the Summary Offences (obstruction of Public Places) Amendment 2023 will undermine the ability of everyone in South Australia to exercise their right to peacefully protest.
Read MoreAround the world, reproductive freedom is constantly under threat. The Human Rights Law Centre fights back against attempts to wind back progress on reproductive rights in Australia.
Read MoreDisinformation is used to create division and to polarise our communities for political or financial gain. The Human Rights Law Centre advocates for legal reforms to prevent its spread and penalties for politicians who deliberately mislead the public.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre is working to address systemic problems with Australia’s migration system that prevent migrants from becoming permanent residents or citizens.
Read MoreAustralia’s migration laws should aim to reunite people with their loved ones, not deliberately keep them apart. The Human Rights Law Centre advocates for an end to cruel migration policies that intentionally separate families.
Read MoreProtection for journalists’ sources is a vital component of press freedom. Together, the media and their sources bring transparency and accountability. Without whistleblowing, public interest journalism is often not possible; and wrongdoing remains hidden. Which is why it is absolutely crucial for press freedom in Australia that whistleblowers are protected, not punished.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre supports all elements of the Uluru Statement from the Heart – the establishment of a First Nations Voice enshrined in the Constitution, Treaty and Truth-telling.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre and Maurice Blackburn are supporting the Berati family in legal action to hold the Australian Government and G4S to account for Reza Berati’s murder at a Manus Island detention centre in 2014
Read MorePeople seeking safety in Australia should be treated with dignity and respect, not banished to a detention camp in another country. The Human Rights Law Centre continues to call for an end to this shameful policy.
Read MoreFirst Nations people must work until they're 67 before getting the pension, just like white people. But we have a much lower life expectancy.
Read MoreAustralians should not be punished for speaking the truth. When courageous whistleblowers speak up about human rights violations, government misfeasance or corporate misdeeds, we can demand action.
Read MoreWhistleblowers are vital actors in our democracy, upholding our right to know. Without them – and the public interest journalism they make possible – corruption and human rights abuses go unaddressed. In recent weeks, Senator David Pocock and members of parliament Zoe Daniel and Andrew Wilkie have all given voice to whistleblowers.
Read MoreVictoria has some of Australia’s most dangerous and discriminatory bail laws that are disproportionately impacting Aboriginal women and women experiencing disadvantage. The Human Rights Law Centre is advocating with partners for the Victorian Government to implement reforms to make Victoria’s bail laws fair.
Read MoreWestern Australia was the last state where abortion remained in the criminal code. In 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 MoreOur new major report, Together in Safety, exposes the Australian Government’s deliberate and systematic approach to keeping refugee families apart.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre is expanding our work fighting for climate and environmental justice. Using our srategic litigation and advocacy expertise, this new program area will push governments and companies to set more ambitious climate targets, protect human rights and secure the reforms needed for a sustainable future.
Read MoreThe freedom to protest is fundamental to our democracy, but for years, protest rights across Australia have been under a sustained attack. The Human Rights Law Centre is fighting attacks on our right to protest through advocacy and strategic litigation.
Read MoreNo one should be subjected to abuse in prisons and places of detention. Yet cruel and degrading treatment is all too common in prisons and police cells across Australia. The UN’s anti-torture treaty, the Convention Against Torture and the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT), are designed to end the mistreatment of people behind bars.
Read MoreStrip searching is carried out routinely in Australian prisons, despite the availability of non-invasive alternatives. Strip searches rob people of their dignity and can be traumatising for survivors of abuse. The Human Rights Law Centre advocates for an end to the use of routine strip searching in Australian prisons.
Read MoreFor almost five years, the Australian government refused to process Abdullah and Fatima’s family visa application, so the Human Rights Law Centre supported the family to challenge the delay in court
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