WHY WE NEED A HUMAN RIGHTS ACT
A Human Rights Act for NSW will deliver these key changes for the people of NSW:
A Human Rights Act for NSW will mean that the NSW Government must consider our human rights whenever it creates new laws and policies and whenever it delivers services to us – like housing, healthcare, and education.
A Human Rights Act for NSW will create simple, low-cost, accessible remedies. This means we will be able to take action and seek a just solution if we believe that our human rights have been breached.
DETAILED HUMAN RIGHTS ACT EXPLAINER
HUMAN RIGHTS MEAN EVERYONE GETS A FAIR GO
Everyone in NSW has human rights. They are universal, meaning they are for everyone, everywhere, all of the time.
Human rights legally articulate the values that we hold most dear, like freedom, equality, dignity, and work as a tool that we can use to protect our safety and quality of life. They belong to all of us from birth until death, no matter our race, gender, religion, abilities, political beliefs, sexuality, age or any other characteristic.
They include well known rights such as:
equality before the law
protection from torture, cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment or punishment
the right to a fair trial
the right to vote
freedom of speech, movement and assembly
protection from arbitrary imprisonment
the right to an education
the right to health
the right to adequate housing
the right to privacy
They also include many other rights that Australia has promised to uphold under instruments like the core United Nations Human Rights Treaties and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Protecting our human rights ensures that we are all treated fairly and equally with dignity and respect.
THE PROBLEM: NSW HAS FALLEN SERIOUSLY BEHIND
Human rights are only enforceable when they are protected in law
Australia accepted binding international legal obligations under the core United Nations human rights treaties but these do not automatically become enforceable in our legal system. For those rights to have real meaning here at home, our parliaments must enact laws that articulate and protect them.
Human rights legislation has already been passed in the Australian Capital Territory (2004), Victoria (2006) and Queensland (2019).
Every other comparable Western Liberal Democracy around the world has either a Human Rights Act or Bill of Rights.
NSW has fallen seriously behind. This leaves people in NSW living with some of the least comprehensive protection for their human rights anywhere in the democratic world.
THE SOLUTION: A HUMAN RIGHTS ACT FOR NSW
Safeguarding our human rights in NSW law so that they can’t be ignored
A Human Rights Act for NSW would provide a safeguard so that our politicians and the agencies that deliver government services to us can’t simply overlook our human rights when making laws and policies or delivering services to us.
Whether it concerns education, healthcare, housing, police accountability, voting, workplace relations, privacy, censorship, the rights of First Nations people or counter-terrorism, a Human Rights Act for NSW will mean that government decision-makers have to consider how a proposed law or decision will impact our human rights.
This will create a culture of awareness and respect for our rights throughout the work of the NSW government. It will help to prevent human rights violations from happening in the first place - and if they do happen - it will also mean that we have pathways to take action for a just solution.
WHAT IS A HUMAN RIGHTS ACT?
A Human Rights Act is an ordinary piece of legislation.
It is the tool we can use to ensure people treat others as they wish to be treated, or face meaningful consequences.
A Human Rights Act creates legislated human rights protections, rather than constitutional ones. This means that it can evolve alongside NSW community values because it can be more easily amended. It also means that it protects our rights while maintaining parliamentary sovereignty.
HOW DOES A HUMAN RIGHTS ACT WORK?
Which rights?
The Human Rights Acts that other Australian jurisdictions have enacted provide protection for rights based on rights protected by international treaties and agreements to which Australia is party, such as the:
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Convention on the Rights of the Child
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
How?
A Human Rights Act for NSW, like the existing human rights legislation in other jurisdictions, would be based on a ‘dialogue model’. The dialogue model seeks to create a culture of human rights awareness within and between the three arms of government (the Parliament, the Executive and the Courts). It would create a legislated framework that places obligations on each arm to protect and promote your human rights.
The key objects of a Human Rights Act would be to:
Protect and promote human rights and help to create a fair, just and equal society for everyone in NSW.
Require parliament and the NSW Government and other public authorities to consider how laws, policies and the delivery of services impact on our human rights.
Provide people whose human rights have been breached with accessible remedies.
A Human Rights Act will benefit everyone in NSW by establishing a framework that:
Requires the NSW Government to consider our human rights whenever it creates new laws and policies.
Requires public entities, such as state government departments, local councils, state schools, hospitals, the police (and all organisations performing a public function in NSW) to act compatibly with our human rights. This means that when they deliver services to us like housing, healthcare, and education, the decisions they make about us have to be compatible with our human rights.
Enables NSW courts and tribunals to interpret legislation consistently with our human rights.
Provides accessible pathways that we can all use to make a complaint and seek a just solution if our human rights are breached.
A Human Rights Act would be a powerful tool for protecting the human rights of everyone in New South Wales and for ensuring a more responsive and accountable government.
Find out more
Read our Key Principles for a Human Rights Act
A HUMAN RIGHTS ACT WILL PROTECT US ALL
A Human Rights Act will help to create a fair, just and equal society for everyone in NSW.
A Human Rights Act will protect everyone in NSW against the unjust or arbitrary exercise of public power.
This means everyone, regardless of their age, background, identity or postcode will benefit from a Human Rights Act for NSW.
Human rights are only properly protected when we all can enjoy them – after all, human rights belong to all of us all of the time. By enshrining our rights in law, a Human Rights Act will help to make sure we all have a chance to build and live in a fair, just and equal society.
HOW WILL A HUMAN RIGHTS ACT HELP ME IF I THINK MY RIGHTS HAVE BEEN VIOLATED?
There are no meaningful rights without remedy.
If our human rights have been breached, we should all be able to take action to seek justice.
One of the strengths of a Human Rights Act is that it can provide everyone in NSW with simple, low-cost, accessible pathways to seek a just solution if we believe that a government decision or action has violated our rights.
Importantly, a Human Rights Act will promote a greater awareness of, and respect for, human rights within government and throughout the NSW community. If we have a strong human rights culture in our state, human rights violations can be prevented before they ever happen in the first place.