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President's message: The year in review

Human rights are standards that governments have agreed to meet so that everyone can live a safe, free and dignified life. Human rights belong equally to all of us, no matter who we are or where we are. They are the key to living well. Human rights are about being treated fairly, treating others fairly and being able to choose how we live our lives together in our communities and society.  

Human rights reflect values like equality, freedom, respect, dignity, kindness, thinking of others and looking out for each other. Human rights are Australian values. 

Since 1986, the ºÚÁÏÇ鱨վ (the Commission) has been protecting the human rights of all people in Australia. Our vision is an Australian society where human rights are respected, protected and promoted and every person is free and equal in dignity and rights. 

Human rights challenges remain acute 

The past year has seen continued human rights challenges for many Australians. Increases in the cost of living, while thankfully abating, have made it harder for many people to access housing, healthcare, education and energy. Wealth and income inequality are rising. The human rights divide been people in the cities and rural areas continues, particularly in relation to education, health and jobs. 

Racism continues to cause harm and fracture our society. For First Peoples communities, racism is a far too familiar experience. Jewish, Israeli, Palestinian, Muslim and Arab communities in Australia continue to experience racism connected to the ongoing violence in Gaza and beyond. For First Peoples communities, racism is a far too familiar experience. 

The implementation of the Uluru Statement’s call for Voice, Treaty and Truth has stalled at the national level following the failed 2023 Voice referendum. Progress is happening in some jurisdictions, particularly Victoria and South Australia, while Queensland abolished its truth and treaty process. 

Australian governments are imprisoning First Peoples and removing their children into child protection systems at worsening rates. States and territories are increasingly pursuing harsh, counterproductive criminal justice policies that breach human rights standards. Only 4 of the 19 Closing the Gap targets are on track and there has been limited progress on raising the age of criminal responsibility. Most jurisdictions, including at the federal level, allow children as young as 10 to be arrested, prosecuted and locked up.  

A more proactive, preventative approach to protecting rights 

Against this backdrop, the Commission continues to outline reforms to better protect people’s rights in Australia. This starts with a Human Rights Act. A Human Rights Act would protect people’s rights in law, improve understanding of rights and give people the power to take action if their rights are breached. There is strong community support for reform. The Australian Parliament’s own human rights committee has recommended adopting a Human Rights Act. It’s a long overdue missing part of the democratic foundations of this country. 

Building a culture of respecting human rights means strengthening everyone’s understanding of their rights and responsibilities. We also need to address poor public knowledge around civics and our democracy. Education standards in this area have been neglected and activities are inadequately resourced and sustained. We need a national action plan for human rights education. This would promote understanding of rights in schools, workplaces, communities and government and strengthen shared Australian values of fairness, equality and respect for each other.

Our discrimination laws are ageing, inconsistent and place too much burden on individual people complaining to change unfair systems. They need to be modernised and improved with a stronger focus on prevention. The Australian Government’s response to the Disability Royal Commission provides a pathway to reform our national disability discrimination laws and to make all our discrimination laws more effective and consistent.  

Our National Anti-Racism Framework provides a roadmap for addressing the scourge of racism in this country. We need to tackle racism in a systemic, national way. Our landmark Racism@University study is underway and will report on the prevalence of racism on campuses and deliver practical recommendations on how to respond. 

Our ‘Help way earlier!’ report, launched in August, calls for evidence-based and effective policies to improve children’s wellbeing and community safety through improved youth justice systems. Commissioner Katie Kiss completed her national Informing the Agenda consultations to inform her upcoming Social Justice Report. The report will outline a fresh agenda for making the rights of First Peoples a reality in this country. Our report on COVID-19 calls for human rights to be placed at the centre of responses to emergencies and disasters. Our work on ageing is strengthening systems to address elder abuse and tackling the prejudice that sees older people excluded from workplaces and poorly treated in healthcare. 

 Our work on technology and human rights is at the forefront of policy debates. While technology is reshaping our society, advances continue to outpace regulation. Proactive regulation is needed to reap the benefits of new technology such as AI and neurotech while avoiding the harms.  

Our partnerships with the Australian Defence collaboration, the Australian Federal Police and Australian Border Force are building their internal human rights capability and culture. At the international level, we continue to strengthen the human rights capacity of regional neighbours through ASEAN and in partnership with Vietnam and Laos as well as in the Pacific.   

Ensuring people can access justice when they are discriminated against

The heart of the Commission’s work has always been our access to justice services. We currently receive around 14,000 enquiries and close to 3,000 complaints of discrimination and human rights breaches each year. We provide free and accessible conciliation services to help resolve these complaints. The vast majority do not proceed into the federal court system. 

During the year, we welcomed the findings of the Australian National Audit Office’s audit of our complaint handling and agreed to their recommendations. We currently receive around 30% more complaints each year than we did prior to the pandemic. This has led to increases in the timeframes for resolving complaints. While we are making small inroads into the complaint backlog and reducing timeframes, funding is a major barrier to addressing this.   

The positive duty to eliminate sexual harassment and other conduct 

This year was the first full year of the Commission’s new role as a regulator of the positive duty to eliminate sexual harassment, sex discrimination and other unlawful conduct in workplaces. Alongside our compliance tools and training, we launched 4 formal inquiries and engaged with 35 other employers in a voluntary capacity. We are currently focussing on the higher risk retail and hospitality sectors. 

Turning 40 

The Commission turns 40 next year. It will be a good opportunity to reflect on the impact of our work and celebrate nationally significant initiatives like our Bringing them home and Respect@Work reports. It will be a chance to recognise the positive social change brought about by our national anti-discrimination laws. 

Thank you to our dedicated Commissioners and staff and to the many community, government and business partners who worked with us to advance human rights in this country over the year. Our lives are better, and our communities are stronger, safer, healthier and more prosperous when human rights are respected, promoted and protected. 

Hugh de Kretser  
President