Ten international civil society organisations with extensive experience in human rights and environmental issues warn that the lack of prior consultation of the 11 Indigenous Peoples of Jujuy in the approval process for the reform of the provincial constitution is incompatible with international human rights and environmental standards.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has appeared before a Parliamentary Inquiry to call for comprehensive reform of Commonwealth whistleblowing laws so that whistleblowers are protected, not punished.
Read MoreShockwaves of the war in Gaza: Rights to speech, protest and information must be guaranteed globally to fight antisemitism and islamophobia.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre today urged the Victorian Government to reject any proposal that would require protesters to obtain a permit to peacefully gather and demand change on issues they care about.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre is appearing before the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor to call for Australia’s national secrecy laws to be improved to encourage transparency and accountability.
Read MoreIn a joint submission, the #OurDemocracy alliance are calling on the Albanese Government to overhaul lobbying laws and ensure our politicians are accountable to the people, not big industries.
Read MoreAustralia’s national secrecy laws should be recalibrated to encourage transparency and accountability in the public interest.
Read MoreFormer whistleblowers, experts and civil society groups are calling on the Albanese government to establish a Whistleblower Protection Authority as part of Australia’s integrity and regulatory landscape.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has called for an overhaul of the Public Interest Disclosure Act, the federal law protecting public servant whistleblowers, and a whistleblower protection authority to improve transparency and accountability in Australia’s democracy, in a submission to the Attorney-General’s Department.
Read MoreThe ACT Court of Appeal has published previously secret judgments to mark the end of the Bernard Collaery and Witness K saga, underscoring the need for the Albanese Government to implement transparency and whistleblowing reforms.
Read MoreThe COVID-19 pandemic laid bare the missing human rights considerations in federal government decisions and policies, the Human Rights Law Centre today told the Federal Government COVID-19 inquiry on behalf of the Charter of Rights campaign, a coalition made up of over 90 organisations.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre welcomed the launch of an inquiry by the South Australian Parliament into whether the state should join Victoria, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory by enacting a Human Rights Act or Charter.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed recommendations by an independent review into the law that enabled the prosecutions of Witness J, Witness K and Bernard Collaery to be shrouded in secrecy, and called on the Attorney-General to urgently implement the review's findings.
Read MoreNew polling has found that Australians believe the government is prioritising the views of big business over ordinary people and want the Albanese Government to close secret donation loopholes.
Read MoreNSW Council for Civil Liberties, Human Rights Law Centre and Australian Democracy Network
are deeply concerned about the heavy-handed police repression of a peaceful protest near
Port Botany.
The Human Rights Law Centre and Australian Democracy Network have today called for governments across Australia to adhere to international standards and human rights law to ensure protest rights are protected in the Declaration of Our Right to Protest.
Read MoreCivil society groups have raised concerns about the democratic impact of the prosecution of David McBride, after the Afghan Files whistleblower pleaded guilty to three charges.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre today welcomed Monique Ryan’s Lobbying (Improving Government Honesty and Trust) Bill 2023 as the most ambitious proposal to regulate lobbying put before federal parliament in decades.
Read MoreThe prosecution of war crimes whistleblower David McBride will deter whistleblowers and undermine press freedom, a coalition of civil society groups and unions have said on the opening day of McBride’s trial.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre have questioned the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) over its decision not to deploy mobile polling booths in hospitals and for insufficient allocation of resources to mobile polling teams on Aboriginal homelands.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre today condemned the NSW Police Minister and NSW Police for refusing to allow a planned protest to go ahead by members of the Palestinian community and their supporters. It further condemned the NSW Premier, Chris Minns, for his alarming comments indicating Palestinians would not be permitted to take to the streets again in the future.
Read MoreJoint evidence to the inquiry from Transparency International Australia, Griffith University’s Centre for Governance and Public Policy and the Human Rights Law Centre calls for a single Act to protect whistleblowers across all types of private sector entities – revealing that partnerships like the major accounting firms are not adequately covered by any existing laws, for the public or private sectors.
Read MoreMore than 70 organisations and individuals have signed a letter to the Australian Government, published in newspapers today, calling for an end to the prosecution of whistleblowers and for urgent whistleblower protection reform.
Read MoreThe Australian parliament must reform public and private sector whistleblowing law and establish a whistleblower protection authority to address the urgent need for accessible, legal support and protections for whistleblowers, the Human Rights Law Centre said on release of a new report.
Read MoreBy exposing human rights violations, government wrongdoing and corporate misdeeds, whistleblowers make Australia a stronger democracy. But right now, whistleblowers in Australia face retaliation within their own workplaces. They continue to be sued by their employers for speaking out; some are being criminally prosecuted for telling the truth.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre today criticised the use of restraining orders by Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill, which silence climate activists.
Read MoreFrom August 22 to 25, 2023, human rights organizations from different countries carried out an independent international mission in the Province of Jujuy in response to the serious news of possible human rights violations within the framework of the recent provincial constitutional reform process.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre have welcomed the draft Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2023 (Cth) as a positive step toward regulating social media platforms, which profit from the spread of dangerous disinformation.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre is participating as amicus curiae (friend of the court) in a landmark appeal as part of the ongoing unjust prosecution of whistleblower Richard Boyle.
Read MoreThe #OurDemocracy alliance, welcomed Kate Chaney MP’s positive step towards shining a light on secret donations in introducing the Restoring Trust Bill, which proposes thirteen changes to electoral and political donation laws to bolster democratic integrity and rebuild public trust in the electoral process.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre will appear before the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor, Grant Donaldson SC, to call for urgent and comprehensive reforms to national security laws to protect open justice.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has become a member of the Whistleblowing International Network, the global peak body for whistleblower protection organisations.
Read MoreThe Australian Government must strengthen its commitment to human rights in its laws, policies and practices, the Human Rights Law Centre said today in response to new comprehensive data looking at the state of human rights in Australia.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has been granted leave to participate as amicus curiae (friend of the court) in a landmark appeal as part of the ongoing unjust prosecution of whistleblower Richard Boyle.
Read MoreThe recommendations from an inquiry into the 2022 federal election to strengthen Australia’s democracy could also have the unintended consequence of silencing civil society voices in election debates
Read MoreInitial amendments to Australia’s federal public sector whistleblowing law, the Public Interest Disclosure Act, are a welcome step towards much-needed comprehensive reform,.
Read MoreA national security law used to shroud court cases in secrecy is undemocratic, possibly unconstitutional and in urgent need of comprehensive reform.
Read MoreThe Malinauskas Government’s anti-protest laws have passed the South Australian Legislative Council. The laws, which were rushed through Parliament without any public consultation, will undermine the ability of everyone in South Australia to exercise their right to peacefully protest.
Read MoreUndermining democracy and silencing whistleblowers, journalists and human rights defenders.
Read MoreWe call on the SA Legislative Council to block proposed anti-protest laws that were rushed through the House of Assembly by the Malinauskas Government.
Read MoreAustralians overwhelmingly believe that whistleblowers make Australia a better place and should be protected, not prosecuted, finds new research by The Australia Institute and the Human Rights Law Centre.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre welcomes the long overdue publication of Witness J’s sentencing remarks by ACT Chief Justice Lucy McCallum after years of secrecy.
Read MoreAs more people and their personal data fall victim to increased data harvesting in Australia, the Human Rights Law Centre is calling on the Federal Government to embrace bold proposed reforms to better protect people’s right to privacy.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre today urged the Attorney-General to discontinue the prosecution of tax office whistleblower Richard Boyle and fix whistleblower protection laws, after Boyle’s whistleblowing defence was dismissed by the South Australian District Court.
Read MoreWhile Australia has been an early mover on reform for online safety and digital media, it lags on key aspects of regulating digital platforms. The Human Rights Law Centre’s submission to the parliamentary inquiry into the influence of international digital platforms calls for greater transparency and regulation to protect human rights.
Read MoreQueensland’s public sector whistleblowing laws were once world-leading; they now lag behind other Australian jurisdictions. Queensland’s public sector whistleblowing laws are in need of an urgent overhaul, a coalition of organisations have told an independent review into the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2010 (Qld).
Read MoreA national coalition of over 40 legal service providers, unions, ethnic community peak bodies, churches, and national organisations is calling on Minister for Home Affairs Clare O’Neil to urgently bring widespread migrant worker exploitation out of the shadows.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre urges the Albanese Government and Treasurer Jim Chalmers to improve the upcoming Federal Budget for people across the community by placing human rights at the heart of the budget decisions they will be making.
Read MoreThe Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) will release data on 1 February revealing how much political parties and third parties spent in the 2022 Federal election, and the donations used to fund those campaigns.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre, Griffith University’s Centre for Governance & Public Policy and Transparency International Australia have called for a comprehensive reform process to ensure stronger protections for Australian whistleblowers, building on initial announcements by the Albanese government about its first steps.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre, the Australian Democracy Network and the Australia Institute today welcomes the federal Greens’ announcement to protect the right to protest.
Read MoreTransparency International Australia, the Human Rights Law Centre and Griffith University’s Centre for Governance & Public Policy welcomed the release of initial amendments to Australia’s federal public sector whistleblowing law, but called for a more comprehensive approach to whistleblower protection in 2023.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre welcomes recommendations by a Parliamentary committee that Members of Parliament, their staff and Commonwealth Parliamentary Workplaces more broadly adopt behaviour standards and codes which state that bullying, harassment, sexual harassment, assault and discrimination will not be tolerated, condoned, or ignored.
Read MoreThe Australian parliament must reform public and private sector whistleblowing law and establish a whistleblower protection authority, according to a report published on Wednesday by Griffith University, the Human Rights Law Centre and Transparency International Australia.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre will today appear before the Joint Select Committee on Parliamentary Standards (Committee), to give evidence for reforms that would ensure that politicians and all people working in, or visiting, the Commonwealth Parliament fall under a code of conduct. The code should cover not just gender-based bullying, harassment and assault, but other forms of discrimination, including racism, ableism and transphobia.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre wishes to correct a statement issued on 27 October 2022, ‘McBride prosecution proceeding to trial after Attorney-General intervention undermines whistleblowing defence’.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has condemned the ongoing injustice in the prosecution of David McBride, who blew the whistle on allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre and Australian Centre for International Justice are calling for an end to the unjust prosecution of war crimes whistleblower David McBride, as his whistleblowing defence hearing begins in Canberra on Thursday.
Read MoreThe draft legislation to establish the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is a missed opportunity for whistleblower protections and should be strengthened, the Human Rights Law Centre has told a parliamentary inquiry.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre will today appear before the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters (Committee), to advocate for reforms that will make elections fairer and our democracy stronger.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre is calling on Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus KC to discontinue the unjust prosecution of tax office whistleblower Richard Boyle, with his defence hearing set to begin in Adelaide on Tuesday.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed the release of a landmark report on facial recognition technology (FRT) and called on the Attorney-General, Mark Dreyfus KC, to urgently regulate the technology to prevent human rights harms.
Read MoreThe Rockliff government’s alarming new anti-protest law has passed the Upper House in a move that will weaken Tasmania’s democracy and erode the right to protest.
Read MoreLeading Tasmanian and national civil society organisations are calling on members of the Legislative Council to vote against the Rockliff government’s dangerous new anti-protest law.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed a finding from the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor, a national security watchdog, that the level of secrecy in the trial of an intelligence officer known as Witness J should not have occurred and can never be repeated.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed the announcement that the federal government will drop the prosecution of whistleblower Bernard Collaery.
Read MoreTasmanians’ right to protest has been undermined with the Rockliff government’s dangerous new anti-protest law passing the second reading phase in the Legislative Council earlier today.
Read MoreForty civil society organisations have expressed alarm at reports of police overreach in preemptive policing of protest, with NSW police conducting covert surveillance and a raid on climate activists north of Sydney on Sunday.
Read MoreLeading Tasmanian and national civil society organisations are urging the Tasmanian Upper House to reject the Rockliff government’s alarming new anti-protest law.
Read MoreEnvironmental Justice Australia and the Human Rights Law Centre are urging the Andrews government to withdraw a draconian proposed new law that would criminalise peaceful protest.
Read MoreAhead of tomorrow’s federal election, the Human Rights Law Centre has set up a register where people can record barriers they face in casting their vote.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre is calling on the Morrison Government to urgently fix the regulations that stand in the way of tens of thousands of Australians with Covid-19 exercising their fundamental democratic right to vote.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has written to the Australian Electoral Commission seeking urgent clarity around the AEC’s interpretation of phone-voting provisions for Covid-19 affected people ahead of Saturday’s federal election.
Read MoreLeading Tasmanian and national civil society groups are calling on the Rockliff government to halt the introduction of an alarming new anti-protest law, currently before the Tasmanian Parliament.
Read MoreAn alliance of Australia’s most well-established and respected charities today called on all parties to support issues-based charity advocacy in the lead up to elections.
Read MoreOn World Press Freedom Day, the Human Rights Law Centre is calling on both major parties to commit to dropping the ongoing prosecutions of three Australian whistleblowers and reforming whistleblowing laws if elected.
Read MoreAhead of the federal election, 16 community, human rights and religious groups have joined forces to call on all candidates to refrain from misleading voters and commit to reforms to stop the spread of disinformation.
Read MoreThe passing of the Perrottet government’s new anti-protest law will undermine the ability of everyone in NSW to exercise their freedom to protest, a coalition of environmental, social justice and human rights groups has warned.
Read MoreA coalition of environmental, social justice and human rights groups is urging the Perrottet government to halt its attempts to rush through a draconian anti-protest law, which could see peaceful community protesters jailed for up to two years.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre today called on the Morrison government to drop the unjust charges against whistleblower Bernard Collaery and urgently reform Australia’s whistleblower protection laws.
Read MoreA damning new report details how the fossil fuels, tobacco and gambling industries use their wealth to manipulate Australia’s democratic processes to put their profits ahead of the wellbeing of Australians.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed the release of the Jenkins’ report, which recommends both Houses of Parliament establish “clear and consistent” codes of conduct for MPs and Senators
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed proposed amendments to Victoria’s new pandemic law, which will lead to stronger human rights protections and increased independent oversight of the government’s pandemic response.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed the news that the Senate has voted to disallow the Morrison Government’s proposed new anti-charity regulations.
Read MoreMajor new research has identified a clear and alarming trend that sees climate defenders increasingly being targeted and suppressed by Australian governments.
Read MoreSeven in 10 Australians want more legal protections for whistleblowers and say that whistleblowers make Australia a better place, according to new research by The Australia Institute and the Human Rights Law Centre.
Read MoreWith Victoria’s current state of emergency set to expire on 16 December 2021 and unable to be extended, the Victorian Government has introduced a proposed new pandemic law.
Read MoreThe Morrison government’s proposed laws requiring people provide identification when voting will create new and unnecessary barriers that undermine the right to vote for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and people experiencing homelessness.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre today welcomed the announcement of moves to abolish hotel quarantine in NSW and Victoria for vaccinated people who test negative. Last week, the NSW Government announced the abolition of hotel quarantine from 1 November for vaccinated people. Today, the Victorian Government announced a home quarantine trial from 27 October.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre and Digital Rights Watch have written to federal, state and territory health ministers calling for stronger privacy protections in the technology being used to support home quarantine trials.
Read MoreA coalition of human rights, social justice and environment organisations are calling on the Tasmanian Government to abandon its latest attempt to restrict protest rights.
Read MoreThe ACT Court of Appeal has ruled that parts of the ongoing prosecution of Bernard Collaery should be open to the public.
Read MoreThe Tasmanian Government’s proposals to make political donations and election spending more transparent are a step in the right direction, but the new laws do not go far enough. The legislation still leaves Tasmania with the weakest regulation of third-party campaigners, such as industry lobby groups, of any state or territory in Australia.
Read MoreDemocracy doesn’t stop in a pandemic, and people’s right to protest is an important part of a healthy democracy.
Read MoreAustralia's journalists and whistleblowers are under increasing threat and urgently need better legal protections, the Human Rights Law Centre has advised in a submission to a Senate inquiry examining free speech and press freedom.
Read MoreIt has been 1,000 days since the Morrison government committed to introduce a federal anti-corruption commission, yet there has been no movement on this reform, which would be a major step forward for democratic accountability and political integrity in Australia.
The Morrison Government has today rushed through a new law creating sweeping surveillance powers, ignoring crucial recommendations of the bipartisan Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security that stronger safeguards are needed to protect the privacy of all Australians.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security’s (PJCIS) recent report on the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2020 and called on the Morrison government to significantly amend the Bill in line with the Committee’s recommendations.
Read More12 charities including First Nations, religious and human rights groups have written to three UN Special Rapporteurs requesting urgent intervention to stop new rules being proposed by the Morrison Government which could shut charities down for speaking out.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre is urging the Queensland Government to introduce robust new shield laws to protect the identity of journalists’ confidential sources.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has expressed deep concern following the sentencing of Witness K, who blew the whistle by revealing that Australian spies had bugged the cabinet office of Timor-Leste to gain an upper hand in commercial negotiations over natural resources – oil and gas – that sit beneath the Timor Sea in 2004.
Read MoreWitness K, the former intelligence officer charged with revealing that Australian spies bugged the cabinet office of Timor-Leste to gain an upper hand in commercial negotiations, will return to court today facing possible jail time.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre is calling for the introduction of legislated minimum standards of openness in Australia’s legal system to prevent trials taking place in secret.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed the findings of a Senate inquiry into press freedom and called on the Morrison Government to immediately act on recommendations to better protect whistleblowers and public interest journalism in Australia.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre is calling for the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) to drop the prosecutions of whistleblowers Bernard Collaery and Witness K, which to date have been shrouded in secrecy. Collaery’s case returns to the ACT Court of Appeal today for a two-day hearing in which Collaery will appeal an order made under the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 to hold his trial largely behind closed doors.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has called for new legal safeguards to prevent secret trials following the case of Witness J, an intelligence agent who was prosecuted and jailed in complete secrecy.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has called on the Morrison Government to abandon its travel bans and facilitate the safe return home of Australians in India as COVID-19 rates escalate in the country.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has criticised the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions’ decision not to drop the prosecution of whistleblower Richard Boyle, saying that the ongoing saga shows the need to urgently overhaul Australia’s whistleblower protection laws.
Read MoreHuman rights, Aboriginal, social justice and environment organisations have welcomed the Tasmanian Legislative Council’s commitment to civil liberties with its voting down yesterday of the Workplaces (Protection from Protesters) Amendment Bill 2019.
New online surveillance laws proposed by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton are dangerous, undemocratic and go far beyond what could be considered necessary and proportionate, the Human Rights Law Centre will tell a parliamentary inquiry today.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has expressed alarm about an expansive new law proposed by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton that would give federal police invasive powers to takeover people’s online accounts and monitor online activity.
Read MoreAustralia’s human rights performance was in the spotlight tonight as the Australian Government appeared before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva for its major human rights review that happens every four to five years.
Australia’s human rights performance will be in the spotlight tonight as the Australian Government appears before the Human Rights Council in Geneva for its major human rights review that happens every four to five years.
The Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed Attorney-General Christian Porter’s announcement that the Federal Government intends to overhaul current whistleblower protection laws and has called on the Government to commit to introducing and consulting on proposed changes early in the new year.
Leading civil society groups have condemned recommendations from a Coalition-controlled parliamentary committee as weakening the fairness and equality of Australia’s elections.
Afghan and Australian human rights organisations have welcomed the release of the report of the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force Afghanistan (IGADF) Inquiry, led by Justice Paul Brereton, into alleged war crimes by Australian special forces in Afghanistan and have called on the Australian Government to now move swiftly to implement its recommendations and establish a proper redress mechanism for victims.
Read MoreReform is needed to ensure politicians put the interests of people, our planet, and future generations before those of big political donors, a Parliamentary Committee will hear today.
Read MoreThe Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) has made bi-partisan recommendations for the scaling back of Australia’s controversial metadata retention regime.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre today said that human rights scrutiny of Victoria’s curfew was welcome and required.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed the compromise reached in the Victorian Parliament to enable the passage of legislation to continue the Victorian Government’s emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic for a further six months.
Read MoreA long awaited report from a Parliamentary committee has recognised the need for significant legal changes to protect public interest journalism, however the recommendations don’t go far enough to ensure journalists are not sent to prison for doing their job.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre’s Executive Director, Hugh de Kretser today gave evidence to the COVID-19 Hotel Quarantine Inquiry covering his personal experience of hotel quarantine and outlining the human rights obligations for the Victorian Government under Victoria’s Charter of Human Rights.
Read MoreThe Victorian Government is requiring people in Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire to wear a face covering or mask when leaving their home to help stop the spread of COVID-19. This explainer seeks to debunk claims that the requirement breaches people’s human rights.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre today responded to misguided claims made over the weekend that the requirement to wear masks in public in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire breached human rights.
Read MorePrime Minister Scott Morrison’s decision to cancel the first August Parliamentary sitting period will hinder the Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and risks undermining Australians’ trust in our leadership at a crucial time.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has told the Senate Committee tasked with investigating the Federal Government's response to COVID-19 that human rights must be at the centre of the Government’s actions, both now and into the future.
Read MoreYesterday, the Australian Federal Police referred ABC journalist Dan Oaks, the journalist behind the Afghan Files, to the Commonwealth DPP to consider laying charges. The journalist’s stories, which uncovered alleged war crimes by Australian troops, prompted the AFP to raid the ABC’s headquarters last year, a move which was resoundingly condemned by journalists and the public.
Read MoreThe Palaszczuk Government is today expected to pass laws to limit political donations and spending in Queensland elections, with new amendments in place to ensure charities will still be able to advocate on issues like family violence, homelessness and protecting the environment.
Read MoreToday seven legal and human rights groups condemned the approach of many Australian governments to recent Black Lives Matter and refugee rights protests, stating it is inconsistent with our democratic rights and freedoms.
Read MoreFourteen members of the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO) including the Human Rights Law Centre express deep concern over the escalation in police responses to protests in the USA over the past week.
Read MoreSix civil society groups are today calling on the NSW State Parliament to immediately reconvene regular sittings, in a way that is safe, so it can debate and address important matters of public concern.
Read MoreAustralia’s ranking in the World Press Freedom Index has fallen by five places in the latest annual assessment from Reporters Without Borders to 26th place behind countries such as Ireland, Uruguay, Germany, and Latvia.
Read MoreToday the High Court unanimously ruled that the warrant relied on by the Australian Federal Police to raid the home of News Corporation journalist Annika Smethurst was invalid, and the raid was therefore unlawful. However laws that criminalise public interest reporting remain in place, leaving journalists and whistleblowers exposed to police investigation and prosecution.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre welcomed the Senate’s vote today to establish a cross-party Senate Select Committee to provide democratic oversight and scrutiny of the Morrison Government’s response to the COVID-19 public health emergency.
Read MoreHuman rights and privacy experts have called on Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt to explain privacy and surveillance issues arising from the Federal Government’s recently launched Coronavirus Australia app. The app has been downloaded over 500,000 times in Australia, yet there is little publicly available information about what data is being collected from people and how that private information is being used and kept safe.
Read MoreEight legal and civil society groups have today called on the Australian Senate to establish a Select Committee with broad powers to review and report on the Federal Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read MoreLimits on the amount of money political parties, candidates and campaigners can spend on elections are needed to restore trust in democracy and achieve greater political equality, a Parliamentary Committee will hear today.
Read MoreLaws that require telecommunication companies to keep records of every single Australian’s phone calls, text messages and movements for at least two years must be amended to prevent the indiscriminate invasion of people’s privacy, a Parliamentary Committee heard today.
Read More“Queensland has a historic opportunity to have the best laws in the country for regulating the influence of money in politics. But first, the proposed laws need significant amendment to ensure not only that charities can continue to speak up, but that big corporate spending is reined in,” said Alice Drury.
Read MoreThe Australian Electoral Commission today released data revealing how much each political party and campaigners spent in the 2019 Federal election, and the donations used to fund those campaigns.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre is strengthening its work by joining the International Network of Civil Liberties Organizations (INCLO). INCLO is a network of 15 independent, national human rights organisations from different countries working together to promote fundamental rights and freedoms.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre today released expert advice by a team of Queensland barristers led by Stephen Keim SC that warns that the Palaszczuk Government’s proposed changes to Queensland electoral laws could face a High Court challenge.
Read MoreThe Palaszczuk Government’s bill to limit political donations and election spending will have the unintended consequence of silencing charities and community groups unless it is amended, legal experts told a parliamentary committee today.
Read MoreQueensland’s new anti-protest laws have come under fire from United Nations experts who warn that the laws unduly restrict freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of speech.
Read MoreToday as we celebrate Human Rights Day, we are delighted to launch our Annual Report for 2019.
Read MoreMuch-needed restraints on law enforcement powers to decrypt people’s devices like mobiles and computers are welcome, the Human Rights Law Centre said today.
Read MoreThe Palaszczuk Government today introduced the Electoral and Other Legislation (Accountability, Integrity and Other Matters) Amendment Bill 2019 that would limit political donations and spending in Queensland elections.
Read MoreProposed laws that would require real-time disclosure of political donations would strengthen democracy, but amendments are needed to ensure they operate fairly, the Human Rights Law Centre said today.
Read MoreProtest rights in Australia should be strengthened, not weakened the Human Rights Law Centre said in response to the Prime Minister’s announcement today that he will look to outlaw environmental campaigns targeting businesses.
Read MoreThe Palaszczuk Government’s announcement today that it will limit political donations and spending in Queensland elections has the potential to be a game changing reform to strengthen Queensland democracy.
Read MoreQueensland Parliament today passed a law that criminalises peaceful protest tactics and infringes Queenslanders’ right to freedom of expression, association and assembly.
Read MoreThe Morrison Government’s plans to implement a facial recognition scheme that endangered rights to privacy have been thwarted after a parliamentary review.
Read MoreA proposed law that criminalises peaceful protest tactics would infringe Queenslanders’ right to freedom of expression, association and assembly, human rights lawyers told a parliamentary committee in Queensland.
Read MoreTomorrow the case against former senior Australian Secret Intelligence Service officer, Witness K, is due to be heard in the ACT Magistrates Court.
Read MoreNSW parliament should not pass a proposed law that would unfairly and unreasonably impact on peoples’ freedom to peacefully protest.
Read MoreJournalists and whistleblowers will continue to face prosecution and jail time for revealing government misconduct and abuse, despite the Attorney-General’s announcement, warned the Human Rights Law Centre.
Read MoreThe Morrison Government’s plan to impose drastic new regulations on unions is unnecessary, unreasonable and will undermine workers’ ability to stand together, the Human Rights Law Centre told a parliamentary committee today.
Read MoreLeading civil society groups say caps on election spending are vital to restoring democracy and achieving greater political equality.
Read MoreThe Morrison Government’s plans for a facial recognition identification and surveillance scheme are dangerously overbroad, lack safeguards and could dramatically alter the freedom of ordinary people going about their daily lives.
Read MoreThe Morrison Government’s plan to impose drastic new regulations on unions is unnecessary, unreasonable and will undermine workers’ ability to stand together, the Human Rights Law Centre, the Australian Conservation Foundation, the Public Interest Advocacy Centre and NSW CLC told a parliamentary committee.
Read MoreThe June 2019 Australian Federal Police raids on journalist Annika Smethurst’s home and the headquarters of the ABC highlight the need to rein in secrecy and mass surveillance laws that damage Australia’s democracy, the Human Rights Law Centre will tell a parliamentary inquiry today.
Read MoreThe June 2019 AFP raids on Annika Smethurst’s home and the headquarters of the ABC should be the turning point to end law enforcement overreach and mass surveillance that damages Australia’s open democracy, the Human Rights Law Centre told a parliamentary inquiry.
Read MoreAmidst reports last week of the extraordinarily high rate at which the Australian Federal Police accessed the communications history of journalists, the Human Right Law Centre, Digital Rights Watch and Access Now have called on the Morrison Government to urgently reform metadata laws.
Read MoreThe Australian Government should repeal laws that strip Australian dual nationals of their citizenship and place them at an unacceptable risk of the statelessness, family separation and indefinite detention, the Human Rights Law Centre said in a submission to a Parliamentary committee.
Read MoreAustralian Federal Police raids on journalists and news outlets are part of a damaging trend of attacks on press freedom and democracy in Australia, said the Human Rights Law Centre.
Read MoreTo strengthen democracy and trust in politics, the NSW public must know who is influencing political decisions, the Human Rights Law Centre stated in a submission to the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption.
Read MoreThe Australian Council of Social Service, the Australian Conservation Foundation and the Human Rights Law Centre today welcomed Labor’s election commitments that would protect and encourage public advocacy in the community and charity sectors.
Read MoreLawyers for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange confirmed overnight that they have received a warrant and a provisional extradition request from the United States. The US indictment charges Assange with conspiracy to commit computer intrusion for his role assisting whistleblower Chelsea Manning to leak US government information including evidence of civilian deaths and potential war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Read MoreThe Government’s proposed new laws to enhance the Home Affairs Minister’s powers to strip citizenship from dual nationals would unnecessarily place Australians and their children at risk of statelessness and harm, the Human Rights Law Centre has warned a parliamentary committee this week.
Read MoreLaunched today at NSW Parliament House, Say it loud: Protecting Protest in Australia, criticises recent attempts by governments to undermine protest rights and outlines ten principles to better protect our rights.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre welcomes the passing of the electoral funding bill, which, after consultation with charities and not-for-profit organisations, is vastly different from the initial flawed proposal that would have stifled vital public advocacy by charities.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre welcomes the electoral funding bill that is to come before the Senate today, which is vastly different from the initial proposal that would have stifled vital public advocacy by charities.
Read More"With this prosecution, the Government is trying to send a message to all public servants that if they dare to speak up about corruption or wrongdoing, the government will come down on them like a tonne of bricks. For a healthy democracy, we want people speaking up when they see something wrong," said Hugh de Kretser.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre welcomed changes recommended by a Parliamentary Committee into proposed national electoral laws, which are a further step towards rolling back proposed legislation that would have stifled vital public advocacy by charities.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre has welcomed the Australian Government’s new strategy for the abolition of the death penalty, but warned that further action is needed to avoid the risk of another tragedy like the deaths of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre welcomed new changes to proposed electoral laws that had originally threatened to shut charities out of public policy debates, yet called for further improvements in a submission to a Parliamentary inquiry.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre welcomed new changes to proposed electoral laws that threatened to shut charities out of public debates about laws and policies.
Read MoreNew laws proposed by the Department of Home Affairs would create a massive database of photos of millions of ordinary Australians, including children, from passports, state and territory drivers’ licences and more.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre believes in a future where human rights are universally understood, upheld and protected. We secure law and policy change that eliminates inequality, abuse and injustice and builds a society grounded in decency, compassion and respect. We are currently recruiting for two people to join our diverse team who have a strong, shared commitment to creating a better, fairer Australia.
Read MoreYoung people, who are most likely to feel the long-term effects of today’s political decisions, should be allowed to vote from the age of 16, the Human Right Law Centre said today in a submission to the Australian Parliament’s electoral committee.
Read MoreAttorney-General Christian Porter has approved the criminal prosecution of a former Australian spy and his lawyer for their role revealing that the Australian Government had bugged the East Timorese cabinet room during sensitive negotiations about oil and gas revenue.
Read MoreCharities and unions will largely be exempt from the foreign agent register if recommendations from a parliamentary committee’s inquiry into foreign influence are acted on.
Read MoreAustralia has a new espionage and secrecy regime, after the Parliament voted to pass the Turnbull Government’s proposals on Thursday evening. Over the last six months, civil society and lawyers’ groups, including the Human Rights Law Centre, raised serious concerns over impacts on freedom of expression.
Read MoreNew criminal offences will make it easier to charge and prosecute prejudice motivated threats or incitement of violence, under new laws tabled by New South Wales Parliament this week.
Read MoreNew laws proposed by the Department of Home Affairs would authorise the creation of a “dragnet database”, compiling images of innocent Australians – including children – from their drivers’ licences, identification cards and passport photos.
Read MoreThe growing threat to press freedom posed by laws that fail to properly protect journalists and their sources has been highlighted by a new report by the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre welcomed a Parliamentary Committee report which recognises major problems in the Turnbull Government’s foreign donations bill as it applies to third parties (individuals and organisations that do not stand for office).
Read MoreProposed amendments to the Turnbull Government’s secrecy laws are a step in the right direction but don’t go far enough, the Human Rights Law Centre told a parliamentary committee this morning.
Read MoreIn response to serious concerns about the harshness and breadth of the Government’s proposed secrecy laws, the Commonwealth Attorney-General, Christian Porter, has unveiled amendments to improve the protections available to journalists who publish potentially sensitive government information.
Read MoreThe Turnbull Government’s anti-democratic slide has been criticised at the United Nations Human Rights Council overnight, with the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders delivering a major report on Australian democracy.
Read MoreThe Australian Government’s proposed legislation to overhaul Australia’s secrecy laws is excessive and poorly designed, the Human Rights Law Centre has told the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.
Read More“Charities have enormous expertise to contribute to public debates. Whether it’s running a homeless shelter or a community health service – charities are uniquely placed to understand how government policies impact on the people and communities they serve. The Government should be encouraging charities to participate in public discussions, not making it harder for them,” said Hugh de Kretser.
Read MoreCivil Voices, an initiative by Pro Bono Australia in partnership with the Human Rights Law Centre, has found Australian not-for-profit organisations are treading carefully in their advocacy work. This trend threatens to silence a sector that has much to contribute to Australian public debate and policy making.
Read MoreCharities in Australia will be silenced from speaking publicly on issues in an election, under law reforms announced by the Australian Government. The Prime Minister, the Attorney-General and the Special Minister of State today outlined plans to ban international donations to charities that engage publicly in election issues.
Read MoreAustralia was condemned overnight by a UN Human Rights Committee for its human rights record on a range of issues including refugees, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ rights, youth justice and democratic freedoms.
Read MoreOvernight Australia was slammed by the UN Human Rights Committee for its “chronic non-compliance” with, and disengagement from, that Committee’s work. Australia’s record on human rights was found lacking as part of the Committee’s review into Australia’s protection of civil and political rights.
Read MoreThe High Court of Australia has ruled that key provisions of Tasmania’s excessive anti-protest legislation are invalid because they violate the implied freedom of political communication in the Australian Constitution.The Executive Director of the Human Rights Law Centre, Hugh de Kretser, said the decision was a big win for democracy in Australia.
Read MoreMedia Alert: At 10:15am Wednesday 18 October the High Court of Australia will hand down its decision in a landmark case which argued that Tasmania’s excessive anti-protest laws violate the implied freedom of political communication in the Australian Constitution.
Read MoreDuring the same week that Australia is expected to be granted a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, an expert UN committee will grill the Australian Government over its own human rights record.
Read More“This is the most significant UN position Australia has sought since the Security Council. Relatively speaking Australia is likely to be a positive force for reform on the Council, but if it wants to have the credibility required to be a true human rights leader it can't continue to blatantly breach international law itself. There's no doubt that it's cruel treatment of refugees will hamstring Australia's efforts on Council," said Emily Howie.
Read MoreThe Australian Government must ensure transparency of its intelligence sharing with other countries to safeguard Australian citizen’s private information, a coalition of privacy and human rights organisations said with the launch of a new campaign.
Read More“One of the things that makes our democracy great is having an informed public debate with a range of voices. Charities working for public benefit are and should be a key voice in these debates. The Government should be safeguarding their free speech, not stifling it,” said Emily Howie.
Read MoreThe Australian Government should create an environment that encourages all not-for-profit groups to speak freely and contribute to public debate the Human Rights Law Centre today told the Department of the Treasury which is conducting an inquiry into potential reforms to the Deductible Gift Recipient tax arrangements.
Read More“Although Australia has, in many ways, a strong democracy, secrecy has noticeably increased across government. Australia’s commitment to the Open Government Forum is a step towards addressing some of the transparency issues that hold us back,” said Emily Howie.
Read MoreAustralian governments must act now to safeguard and encourage vibrant debate on matters of public interest, 15 non-government organisations have said in a new Human Rights Law Centre report to be launched by Gillian Triggs at the Progress conference in Melbourne.
Read MoreOn Tuesday the High Court of Australia will hear a landmark case seeking to strike down Tasmania’s excessive anti-protest laws that unreasonably limit people’s freedom to stand together and speak out on matters that they care about.
Read More“We are seeing a clear and worrying wave of state-based laws that restrict the ability of Australians to stand together and speak out on issues that they care deeply about. The government may disagree with protesters' views on a particular issue, but shutting down peaceful assemblies only serves to weaken our democracy,” said HRLC's Emily Howie.
Read MorePrime Minister Malcolm Turnbull should make the most of his seemingly close relationship with Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo to push for unfettered media access and human rights monitoring in Papua.
Read More“The push to weaken the laws by some has run aground. It’s hard to imagine what those pushing for change want people to be able to say that they currently can’t. Any move to weaken the law itself would have sent a green light to racism,” said the Human Rights Law Centre’s Director of Legal Advocacy, Adrianne Walters.
Read MoreAustralia’s metadata retention regime should be overhauled to properly protect Australians from indiscriminate mass surveillance, the Human Rights Law Centre said in a submission to the Attorney-General’s Department today.
Read MoreThe Australian Government must maintain strong and effective laws against racial hatred the Human Rights Law Centre said today in its submission to a parliamentary inquiry.
Read MoreIn November 2016, Victoria’s Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) announced that charges would be laid against a Leading Senior Constable of Victoria Police in relation to the brutal assault of Corinna Horvath nearly 20 years earlier.
Read MoreThe Australian Government must maintain strong and effective laws against racial hatred, Aboriginal, ethnic and human rights organisations said today in a joint letter that responds to the inquiry into the racial vilification protections in the Racial Discrimination Act.
Read MoreAustralia is failing to provide a safe and free environment for civil society and to ensure that people are free to speak out and peacefully protest on issues that they care about, said a UN Human Rights expert today. Michel Forst, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, has been in Australia for a two-week official visit, meeting with government, MPs and civil society organisations.
Read MoreHuman rights lawyers have raised concerns that a parliamentary committee has sought to silence organisations that advocate to protect the environment.
Read MoreAs governments can bestow rights, equally they can take them away. We must not be complacent, writes the HRLC's Emily Howie.
Read MoreThe New South Wales government’s anti-protest laws will unreasonably restrict and disproportionately punish people for standing together and speaking out on issues that they care about, said the Human Rights Law Centre.
Read MoreWhistleblowers who reveal human rights abuses face the risk of prosecution and jail and require much greater legal protection, said the Human Rights Law Centre in a submission to the review of the Public Interest Disclosure Act 2013 (Cth). The Act is currently being reviewed by former Integrity Commissioner Philip Moss for the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet.
Read MoreAustralia’s political parties must stop eroding many of the vital foundations of Australia’s democracy, the Human Rights Law Centre has said in a new report. Civil society leaders joined the launch at Australian Parliament House to highlight the critical role that civil society plays in a healthy and robust democracy.
Read MoreThree UN human rights experts urged the Western Australian parliament not to adopt a proposed law that would criminalise peaceful protests and silence environmentalists and human rights defenders.
Read MoreVictoria’s Charter of Human Rights would be made more effective, practical and accessible through a range of recommendations made in a report following a review of the Charter’s first eight years of operation.
Read MoreLecturer in the Faculty of Law at Monash University, Sangeetha Pillai, examines the problems with the three significant expansions to the current grounds for citizenship loss contained in new laws proposed by the Government.
Read MoreThe full bench of the High Court will hear an important human rights case next week in Canberra about the Northern Territory's excessive police powers.
Read MoreStripping environmental groups of the right to take legal action under Federal environmental laws will undermine core democratic freedoms, a leading human rights organisation has warned.
Read MoreThe Citizenship Bill currently before the Australian Parliament is badly flawed and should not be passed, the Human Rights Law Centre said in its submission to the Parliamentary Committee investigating the Bill. Read More
Australia should demonstrate its international human rights leadership by leading action at the Human Rights Council to address the urgent human right situation in Egypt, human rights organisations said in a joint letter to Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
Read MoreHuman rights lawyers have raised concerns that a parliamentary inquiry into charity tax law could be used to lay the groundwork for attempts to stifle important voices in the environmental movement.
Read MoreA group of leading Australian and international human rights organisations are calling for an overhaul to the way the Australian government campaigns to end the death penalty, today launching a new strategy document: ‘Australian Government and the Death Penalty: A Way Forward’.
Read MoreThe announcement from Indonesia’s President Joko Widodo that Indonesia will lift its decades-long ban on journalists travelling to its troubled Papuan provinces is a welcome step in the right direction.
Read MoreProposed legislation being debated today in the Western Australian Parliament risks criminalising peaceful protest in breach of international human rights guarantees.
Read MoreThe Queensland government’s commitment to abolish voter ID requirements introduced by the previous government has been welcomed by the Human Rights Law Centre.
Read MoreThe Human Rights Law Centre welcomed today’s announcement by the Victorian Government that Michael Brett Young will lead the 8 year review of Victoria’s Human Rights Charter. Read More
Confirmation that the Attorney-General sought the resignation of the President of the Australian Human Rights Commission reveals the depths of the Government’s willingness to undermine Australia’s independent human rights watchdog, said the Human Rights Law Centre. “This is a blatant political attack to punish the Commission for doing its job reporting on the harm being inflicted on children in detention,” said the HRLC’s Executive Director, Hugh de Kretser. Read More
Proposed new data retention laws create significant risks that private information of Australians will be unlawfully accessed and misused, said the Human Rights Law Centre in a submission to the Senate inquiry into the draft legislation.
Read MoreA push to ensure that people with disabilities fully enjoy the right to vote has been welcomed by the Human Rights Law Centre.
Read MoreAnti-protest laws proposed by the Tasmanian Government - even following amendments – will breach international human rights law, the Human Rights Law Centre has today warned.
Read MoreA broad coalition of Australia’s leading academics, media, human rights, legal and migrant organisations today called on the Australian Government to delay the passage of its proposed anti-terror laws to allow more comprehensive scrutiny of the legislation.
Read MoreThe most significant changes to Australia’s counter-terrorism laws in over a decade proposed under the Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Foreign Fighters) Bill 2014 are extraordinary in nature and encroach on fundamental human rights, the Human Rights Law Centre has said in a submission to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security on its review of the Bill.
Read MoreNew figures revealed today show that a large majority of submissions to the Australian Government oppose controversial proposed changes to Australia’s racial vilification laws.
Read MoreGovernments should ensure that people with disabilities fully enjoy the right to vote by ensuring that all people who express a wish to vote are provided necessary supports and assistance.
Read MoreThe HRLC’s Director of Advocacy and Strategic Litigation, Anna Brown, said Australia was failing to live up to a number of the promises it made three years ago when its human rights record came under scrutiny during its regular review by its peers at the UN – a process known as the Universal Periodic Review.
Read MoreIn a joint open letter sent to Attorney-General George Brandis today, over 120 Aboriginal, ethnic, community, union, legal, religious and human rights organisations urged the Federal Government to abandon its controversial proposal to roll back racial vilification protections.
Read MoreThe Queensland government has passed the first voter ID laws in Australia limiting the right of Queenslanders to vote, particularly members of already marginalised and disadvantaged groups.
Read MoreThe Australian Government should not proceed with proposed changes to racial vilification laws, the Human Rights Law Centre has recommended in its submission to the public consultation process on proposed changes to the Racial Discrimination Act.
Read MoreNoble defences of unlimited free speech make for good debate, but a poor society. The hardest cases help us find the boundaries of acceptable speech, write Rachel Ball and Anna Brown.
Read MoreA new report highlights various ways in which Australia's co-operation with Sri Lanka’s military puts asylum seekers at risk. The report includes a DFAT cable obtained under Freedom of Information laws that reveals the Australia Federal Police declined to interview a man claiming to have been severely tortured after being sent back to Sri Lanka by Australia.
Read MoreGiving evidence to a parliamentary inquiry today, the HRLC’s Director of Legal Advocacy, Daniel Webb, said proposed reforms place ASIO assessments at the centre of refugee processing but contain no safeguards to ensure the security assessment process is fair or accountable.
Read MoreProposed new ‘move-on’ powers for police in Victoria will unreasonably limit human rights and are susceptible to misuse. The Human Rights Law Centre’s Executive Director, Hugh de Kretser, said protest rights and free speech are particularly threatened, but the proposed laws may also have an impact on young people and the homeless.
Read MoreThe Australian Government should scrap discriminatory laws that prevent persons “of unsound mind” from voting, the Human Rights Law Centre has said in a submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission.
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