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Commission – General
Australia’s human rights champions put social justice and equality centre stage
Asylum Seekers and Refugees
Commission commends High Court ruling on indefinite immigration detention
The Australian Human Rights Commission has welcomed yesterday’s High Court ruling which determined that Australia’s system of indefinite immigration detention is unlawful. The landmark decision overturns almost two decades of the practice by Australian authorities in finding it is unlawful to hold a...
Children's Rights
Children's rights in action: Innovations in youth justice webinar
As Australia continues to grapple with ongoing crises in its youth justice systems, this webinar explores the potential lessons our country could learn from international experiences of reform. Over the course of five years, the Oberstown Children Detention Campus in Ireland adopted a Children’s...
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
Commissioners distressed by death of boy after being detained in Perth prison
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar AO, and National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds have issued a joint statement following the death of a First Nations teenager who had been held in a youth detention unit at the Casuarina adult prison in Perth...
Children's Rights
National Children’s Commissioner slams ‘shocking’ new Qld youth justice laws
The National Children’s Commissioner has expressed alarm at the Queensland Government rushing through legislation to allow children to be detained indefinitely in adult detention facilities, in a further contravention of the Queensland Human Rights Act.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice
First Nations women respond to Banksia Hill riots with call for immediate reform to youth justice
First Nations female leaders from across Australia are demanding immediate reform to Western Australia’s approach to youth justice in the wake of today’s riots at the Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre. Hundreds of First Nations women are attending the Wiyi Yani U Thangani National Summit in...
Rights and Freedoms
Commission welcomes banning of spit hoods by AFP
A decision by the Australian Federal Police to end the use of spit hoods has been welcomed by the Australian Human Rights Commission. Today the AFP announced the AFP and ACT police will no longer use spit hoods, and instead the AFP will provide ‘alternative equipment and implement procedures to...
Commission – General
A national Human Rights Act needs to be introduced in Australia
Opinion piece by Commission President Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM, first published in the Canberra Times.
Rights and Freedoms
Urgent action needed following termination of UN inspection
The Australian Human Rights Commission says an extraordinary decision to terminate a tour of Australian places of detention by United Nations inspectors reflects Australia’s fragmented approach to protecting the human rights of people in detention.
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