Australia’s Fourth Universal Periodic Review

The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a peer-review dialogue undertaken by the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council and all 192 Member States of the UN.

Every 5 years, the UPR considers the progress of every country in the realisation of all human rights. It identifies human rights achievements and challenges, with countries making recommendations to the country undergoing review.

In 2026, Australia will appear before the council in Geneva, for its fourth Universal Periodic review.

The UPR is an opportunity to:

• take stock of how well we are protecting the human rights of all people in Australia
• inform the international community of the human rights situation in Australia
• engage with other countries about specified steps Australia will take to improve the enjoyment of human rights in Australia.

Australia has undergone 3 reviews, in 2011, 2015 and 2021.

The review will take place on the basis of 3 documents:

• the national report prepared by the Australian Government
• the UN human rights report
• the stakeholders report which includes contributions by the AHRC and NGOs from Australia.

The Commission’s role in the UPR

In advance of the appearance, the Commission contributes an independent assessment of Australia’s human rights situation, makes recommendations about ongoing challenges, and assesses the implementation status of the 344 recommendations that were made during Australia’s third UPR process.

Our submission to the fourth cycle review welcomes positive developments since the last cycle in 2021 and highlights the ongoing substantial weaknesses in Australia’s human rights protections and new challenges.

The Commission's UPR fact sheets

These factsheets provide further essential information on the human rights concerns and recommendations made in the Commission's UPR submission. 

Civil society participation in the UPR

NGOs and civil society organisations are also invited to take part in the UPR process. Submissions can be made individually or jointly with other NGOs. More information about the NGO coalition, including their submission can be found on the Human Rights Law Centre website.