Equality: Discrimination against Same-Sex Couples
In June 2006, the HRLRC made a submission to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission's inquiry into discrimination in access to financial and work-related benefits and entitlements for same-sex couples. The HRLRC submission considered a range of domestic legislation conferring such benefits and entitlements in the light of international human rights jurisprudence, and expressed concern that these and other laws risk placing Australia in breach of its international human rights obligations. The submission focussed particularly on rights to non-discrimination under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ('ICCPR'), the Convention on the Rights of the Child ('CRC'), the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention of the International Labor Organisation ('ILO 111'), and the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights ('ICESCR').