Publications

Disability Rights

Reflections - first 5 years of the Disability Discrimination Act

As I reach the end of my appointment as the first Disability Discrimination Commissioner, and in the light of proposed structural and funding changes to the Commission, I am drawn to reflect upon the theory and practice, challenges and developments, lessons and achievements, of the first five years...

Disability Rights

The Overlooked Consumers – 20% of the Australian Population with Disabilities and Older People

Every day, one in five Australians experiences difficulties or frustrations in performing everyday tasks with everyday things, such as consumer electronics and appliances. As technology develops, an increasing proportion of products are inaccessible to people with a range of different disabilities...

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

Bringing Them Home: The 'Stolen Children' report (1997)

Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families. April 1997.

Race Discrimination

The RDA and native title (1997)

The response to the High Court’s Wik decision has given rise to intense discussions about the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (RDA), the Australian Constitution and the future of native title, among other things.

Race Discrimination

The Racial Hatred Act: A Guide for People Working in the Australian Media (1997)

The Racial Hatred Act: A Guide for People Working in the Australian Media (1997) Click here to enter Produced by the Race Discrimination Commissioner 1997

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

Indigenous Deaths in Custody:

A Report prepared by the Office of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

Mornington Island Review Report

This review is a follow-up to Mornington: A Report by the Federal Race Discrimination Commissioner, released in April 1993. That Report was the result of a two-and-a-half year investigation into a range of issues affecting Aboriginal people living on Mornington Island in far north Queensland.

LGBTIQ+

Report of the Human Rights Commissioner on certain provisions of the Tasmanian Criminal Code

BACKGROUND Two sections of the Tasmanian Criminal Code (Section 122 (a) and (c) and Section 123) criminalise some forms of sexual activity between males and females and all forms of sexual intercourse between males, including all forms of sexual intercourse and at least some expressions of sexual...

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice

Toomelah Review (1989)

On 15 June 1988 the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission released the Toomelah Report, containing the results of its inquiry into the social and material needs of Aborigines in the New South Wales/Queensland border towns of Toomelah and Boggabilla. The Commission undertook at the time to...

Children's Rights

Our Homeless Children

Report of the National Inquiry into Youth Homelessness In 1987, after consulting with a wide range of individuals and organisations attempting to assist homeless children, analysing current policy directions and surveying the available literature, the Commission decided that there was a clear need...

Children's Rights

Our Homeless Children: Their Experiences

Report by Dr Ian O'Connor to the National Inquiry into Homeless Children by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission

Commission – General

Consultation with National Peak Non-Government Organisations

Chris Sidoti - Secretary, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission In welcoming participants to the Commission's first annual consultation with NGOs, Chris Sidoti said that the Commission saw three main objectives for the meeting: (a) to maximize exchange of opinions (b) to promote an increased...