Alliance of NSW organisations calls for Inquiry into a Human Rights Act for NSW

Human Rights Act for NSW (HRA4NSW) - an alliance of forty seven (47) civil society and community organisations calls for an inquiry into a Human Rights Act for NSW.

HRA4NSW welcomes notice of a bill to establish a NSW Human Rights Act given by the NSW Greens today.

This is an opportunity for the Parliament to begin a long overdue conversation about creating a fairer NSW where everyone’s right to be treated with dignity, equality and respect is legally protected.

NSW lags behind some of Australia’s other most populous states in protecting the human rights of its residents. Human Rights Acts have already been passed in the Australian Capital Territory (2004), Victoria (2006) and Queensland (2019).

Significant momentum for legislative protection of human rights across Australia has been building. The South Australian Parliament is currently conducting an Inquiry into the Potential for a Human Rights Act for SA. The Report of the federal Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights’ Inquiry into Australia’s Human Rights Framework, released in May 2024, and the Report of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Free and Equal Consultation, released in December 2022 not only recommend that a federal Human Rights Act be enacted. They also strongly emphasise that all states and territories yet to do so now need to move towards introducing their own human rights legislation.

HRA4NSW calls on the Government to begin a community-wide conversation by establishing a public inquiry into a Human Rights Act for NSW.

Kerry Weste, HRA4NSW spokesperson and Vice President of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) said: 

“The Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Queensland have already enshrined human rights in Acts of Parliament. Every day these laws are benefiting people in concrete ways, and helping government officials to make fair and caring decisions about things like access to services and policy development. For example, they have been used to protect women at risk of domestic violence, to ensure public housing is accessible for people with mobility issues, to prevent restrictive practises in aged care facilities, and to secure children access to education and healthcare services. 

It’s time for NSW to begin a conversation about putting in place similar laws to protect the wellbeing of everyone in our state.  Holding a public inquiry into a Human Rights Act for NSW would give everyone in our state the chance to design a law that meets the needs of our many different communities.”

Tim Roberts, President of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL) said:

“A NSW Human Rights Act would create a legislated framework that articulates and protects human rights for everyone in NSW based on Australia’s international legal obligations under core United Nations treaties like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). It would significantly improve the way our parliament, government and public entities develop laws, policies and make decisions. It would also create accessible pathways that everyone in NSW can use to take action for a solution if their human rights are breached. This framework is based on the values that the people of NSW hold most dear and will create a much-needed culture of human rights in our state that will, in turn, work to improve wellbeing, dignity and equality in our day to day lives.”

Sarah Marland, CLCNSW Executive Director said:

“In the absence of a Human Rights Act, the most vulnerable people in our community live without any legislated framework to protect their rights and freedoms.  Human rights should be at the heart of the work of our government and its agencies, from the development of laws and policies, through to the smaller everyday decision-making that can so profoundly impact our quality of life. Everyone in NSW should be able to access affordable, simple solutions for justice if their human rights are breached.”

Nikita White, Campaigner, Amnesty International Australia said:  

“A Human Rights Act gives people in NSW a powerful tool to take action if they suffer human rights abuses. People in NSW need that tool now more than ever, whether they’re a family living in their car because they can’t afford housing or a pensioner putting off doctor’s appointments because they can’t afford healthcare. It would allow people to create better lives for themselves and for those around them, where everyone can enjoy their rights to housing, healthcare, a healthy environment, and more.  

Amnesty’s polling has shown that 75% of people support protecting everyone’s human rights in law. We call on the NSW government to legislate a Human Rights Act so people in NSW can challenge human rights abuses, right wrongs, and create a fairer future for everyone.” 

Megan Spindler-Smith (they/them/Mx), Deputy CEO, People With Disability Australia (PWDA) said :

"We need a human rights approach that ensures people with disability are not forgotten or left behind when we talk about human rights. PWDA welcomes the Greens introduction of a Bill for a New South Wales Human Rights Act. An Act under which we are equal and fully protected is the right way forward for our community.

Existing human rights frameworks in New South Wales do not provide adequate protection or stop the violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation people with disability have endured for far too long.

When our rights are breached there must be consequences. It is critical the NSW Anti Discrimination Commission is resourced to enforce new protections and ensure effective supports for all people in New South Wales.”

Professor Amy Maguire, Director of the University of Newcastle Centre for Law and Social Justice said: 

“Over the past three years, the Centre for Law and Social Justice has consulted extensively with school students from the Hunter region about the state of human rights in NSW. Young people are demanding that parliament act to protect their human rights. They are acutely aware of the social, economic and environmental challenges that put human rights at risk and call on political leaders to ensure that everyone has equal access to quality education, a healthy environment, and the chance to participate in public life.

There are significant disparities in opportunities and outcomes for people across NSW. The NSW Parliament drive meaningful change across the State by legislating human rights protections, because legal protection for human rights drives proactive approaches to human rights across our institutions and society.”

To arrange an interview with the HRA4NSW Alliance contact:

Media Manager Louise Hall: lh@jcp.com.au 0428 212 833 

Amnesty International Australia media team: +61 423 552 208 media@amnesty.org.au

HRA4NSW is Co-Convened by Australian Lawyers for Human Rights and the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties.

Respected legal experts come together to back call for a NSW Human Rights Act

Last night some of the State’s most respected legal figures teamed up at a sold out event to highlight the need for New South Wales to catch up with other states and territories by legislating a Human Rights Act. 

Eminent international jurist and former High Court judge the Honourable Michael Kirby AC CMG, Hugh de Kretser, President of the Australian Human Rights Commission and members of the NSW Bar including Dr Ruth Higgins SC, Trent Glover SC and Carmel Lee took part in a public lecture focussed on how a NSW Human Rights Act would make a difference in people’s lives, and why a State-based Human Rights Act is needed in addition to federal legislation.

The public lecture at the University of Sydney Law School was jointly hosted by the NSW Bar Association and Human Rights Act for NSW (HRA4NSW), an alliance of forty seven (47) civil society and community organisations, convened by  Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) and the NSW Council for Civil Liberties

Kerry Weste, Immediate Past President of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) said: “Human Rights Acts have already been passed in the Australian Capital Territory (2004), Victoria (2006) and Queensland (2019). Everyday these laws are benefitting people in concrete ways in relation to issues like housing, education, access to healthcare and much more.  It’s time for NSW to begin a conversation about ensuring that the people of this State receive at least the same level of protection for their human rights.”

“Significant momentum for legislative protection of human rights across Australia has been building. The South Australian Parliament is currently conducting an Inquiry into the Potential for a Human Rights Act for SA. The Report of the federal Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights’ Inquiry into Australia’s Human Rights Framework, released in May 2024, and the Report of the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Free and Equal Consultation, released in December 2022, do not just recommend that a federal Human Rights Act be enacted, they also strongly emphasise that all states and territories yet to do so now need to move towards introducing their own human rights legislation.”

Lydia Shelly, President of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties said, “A NSW Human Rights Act would create a legislated framework that articulates and protects human rights for everyone in NSW based on Australia’s international legal obligations under core United Nations treaties like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). It would significantly improve the way our parliament, government and public entities develop laws, policies and make decisions. It would also create accessible pathways that everyone in NSW can use to take action for a solution if their human rights are breached. This framework is based on the values that the people of NSW hold most dear and will create a much needed culture of human rights in our state that will, in turn, work to improve wellbeing, dignity and equality in our day to day lives.”

Ms Weste Concluded: “HRA4NSW is calling on the NSW Government to establish an inquiry into a Human Rights Act. Holding a public inquiry into a human rights law for NSW would give everyone in our state the chance to design a law that meets the needs of our many different communities.  It would also send a message to our children and young people that we care about their future, and we’re prepared to do the hard work to create lasting social change and a society that strives for the values we hold most dear: justice, equality and a ‘fair go’ for all.” 

To arrange an interview contact Louise Hall: lh@jcp.com.au 0428 212 833

Learn more about the recent passage of a Human Rights Act in QLD

Visit the Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland Website to learn more about their new Human Rights Act

Queensland Human Rights Act

On 27 February 2019 the Queensland Parliament passed the Human Rights Bill.

The Human Rights Act 2019 will protect 23 rights, including the right to privacy, access to education and health services, cultural rights, and more, and is expected to commence on 1 January 2020.

The Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland will be renamed the Queensland Human Rights Commission, and continue its complaints handling, education, and training functions under the Anti-Discrimination Act . The Commission will also work to resolve human rights complaints, as well as provide information, education, and training on the Human Rights Act .

About the Act

The Act protects 23 rights which are:

• recognition and equality before the law

• right to life

• protection from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment

• freedom from forced work

• freedom of movement

• freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief

• freedom of expression

• peaceful assembly and freedom of association

• taking part in public life

• property rights

• privacy and reputation

• protection of families and children

• cultural rights – generally

• cultural rights – Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples

• right to liberty and security of person

• humane treatment when deprived of liberty

• fair hearing

• rights in criminal proceedings

• children in the criminal process

• right not to be tried or punished more than once

• retrospective criminal laws

• right to education

• right to health services.

The Act will require public entities — government departments, local councils, or other organisations providing functions of a public nature — to make decisions and act compatibly with human rights, and parliament to consider human rights when passing new legislation or amending current laws.

The Queensland Human Rights Commission will provide a dispute resolution process for handling human rights complaints.

The obligations and dispute resolution functions are expected to start from 1 January 2020.

You can read the Human Rights Bill on the Queensland Parliament website , along with the:

• Explanatory Notes which explain the objectives of the Bill in more detail; and

• Introductory speech given by the Attorney-General and Minister for Justice.

What happens now?

The Act will go to the Governor to sign (the royal assent) and in due course a proclamation will state when the Act commences.

lt is expected to start in two stages. The first stage is expected to be on 1 July 2019, when the name of the Commission will change to the Queensland Human Rights Commission, and we will start providing information services. The second stage is expected to be on 1 January 2020 when all other obligations will commence.

from: https://www.adcq.qld.gov.au/human-rights/queensland-human-rights-act

Leading Australian Human Rights Lawyers welcome a new era of human rights protection in Queensland

Leading Australian human rights lawyers congratulate the Queensland Government for passing the Human Rights Bill.  The Act will protect a broad range of human rights, including fundamental civil and political rights, the economic, social and cultural rights to education and health services and the cultural rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.  It establishes responsibilities by public entities making decisions that impact on the rights of all Queenslanders.

“This is a significant milestone in Australian history,” Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) President Kerry Weste said. “We now have three Australian states and territories – the ACT, Victoria and Queensland – that have enacted legislative protection for human rights.”

Dr Emma Phillips, Chair of ALHR’s National Human Rights Act Subcommittee, has been actively involved in the Queensland campaign for a Human Rights Act and has welcomed the legislative reform.  “The passage of the Human Rights Bill will be instrumental in the development of a human rights culture in Queensland.”

“This is the strongest model of human rights protection we have seen yet in Australia,” Dr Phillips explained.  “The inclusion of an accessible complaints mechanism, which allows anyone who considers their human rights have been infringed by a public entity to go directly to the rebranded Queensland Human Rights Commission to have their issue heard and responded to is really important.  In developing this complaints mechanism, the Queensland Government has taken heed of the recommendations of the review of the Victorian Charter which noted the importance of an accessible complaints mechanism. This is landmark law reform and we anticipate that this will set a positive precedent for human rights law reform in other Australian jurisdictions.”

“Australia is the only western liberal democracy without a federal Human rights act or charter of rights,” Ms Weste stated. “Australia has committed to respecting and protecting a broad range of human rights by signing and ratifying relevant international human rights treaties and conventions – it is vitally important that we honour this commitment (and offer Australians the protection people in comparable countries enjoy) by enacting appropriate legislation at both a state and federal level.”

ALHR hopes that the enactment of human rights legislation in Queensland, which complements the human rights legislation already existing in the ACT and Victoria, will be the impetus needed to prompt remaining states and territories to introduce state human rights legislation and the Australian Government to introduce a federal Human Rights Act or Charter.  

The 2008/2009 National Human Rights Consultation Committee inquiry headed by Father Frank Brennan recorded extremely high levels of public support for the enactment of a federal Human Rights Act, yet to date, the Committee’s recommendation to enact a Federal Human Rights Act has not been realised.  

ALHR calls on the Federal Government to enact a Federal Human Rights Act as an urgent priority.

Contact: Matt Mitchell, ALHR media manager 0431 980 365.

ALHR was established in 1993 and is a national association of Australian solicitors, barristers, academics, judicial officers and law students who practise and promote international human rights law in Australia. ALHR has active and engaged National, State and Territory committees and specialist thematic committees. Through advocacy, media engagement, education, networking, research and training, ALHR promotes, practices and protects universally accepted standards of human rights throughout Australia and overseas.

The report is out - time for our rights to come home!

The Legal Affairs and Community Safety Committee has just published their report about Queensland's Human Rights Bill.  

The report says:

"The committee recommends that the Human Rights Bill 2018 be passed."

The Government can now pass our Human Rights Bill into law in parliament. 

The Committee received almost 300 submissions. The submissions demonstrated overwhelming community support for a Human Rights Act.

During the public hearing, people who know Queenslanders are not always treated fairly told the Committee that a Human Rights Act would improve things. Scott McDougall, Anti-Discrimination Commissioner said:

"In the course of my career, before I came to the commission I worked for a long time in the community legal service sector and I would have come across literally hundreds, if not thousands, of clients who could have benefited from a human rights act in Queensland."

In the ACT and Victoria, where human rights laws have been in place since 2004 and 2006, people have been saved from eviction into homelessness, people with disability have asserted their rights to access the resources and things they need to live a life with dignity and new laws and policies have been shaped with human rights in mind.

It’s time for a NSW Human Rights Act.

Source: https://www.humanrights4qld.com.au/news

Australia was integral to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Now we are the only Western Democracy without a Charter of Rights

December 10th 2018 was Human Rights Day and the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), a milestone document, which underpins all international human rights law and inspires us to continue to work to ensure all people can live in freedom, equality and dignity.

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) President Kerry Weste says, “Australia was a founding member of the UN and one of eight nations involved in drafting the UDHR. We should be very proud of the part we played as a nation and of our human rights heroes like Dr Herbert Vere Evatt, President of the UN General Assembly who oversaw the adoption of the UDHR, and Colonel William Roy Hodgson who, as a member of the committee chaired by Eleanor Roosevelt, was influential in the UDHR’s drafting and inception.”

“How can it be then that Australia is the only Western democracy bereft of a national Human Rights Act to legally protect the basic rights and freedoms of all Australians? As former President of the Australian Human Rights Commission Professor Gillian Triggs said last year, we should all be alarmed at the failure of our legal system to protect fundamental rights. These rights have evolved over millennia as the very foundations of democracy. In recent years increasingly disproportionate government measures and excessive executive powers have become all too routine”.

“It is time to reignite the dialogue about a federal Charter of Rights for Australia. Every Australian deserves to be treated fairly and equally. We now have Human Rights Acts in the ACT, Victoria and a Bill before the QLD Parliament. A Federal Human Rights Act would ensure that, instead of selectively enshrining Australia’s international legal obligations in Commonwealth legislation on a piecemeal basis, the human rights of all Australians are protected from unreasonable, unfair and unwarranted incursions by the Executive. This is about good governance. The people of Australia deserve nothing less.”

“After all, this protection is something which is enjoyed by the citizens of every other comparable democratic nation. These nations have not descended into chaos as a result of entrenching protection for basic human rights in law.”

see https://alhr.org.au/udhr70/