AHRC Annual Reports

Annual Report 2019-2020

Leon.Wild — Wed, 14 Oct 2020 12:27:35 +0000

Annual Report 2019-2020 Leon.Wild Wed, 14/10/2020 - 23:27

You can access the ��鱨վ 2019 – 2020 Annual Report at the Australian Government Transparency Portal.

Complaint Statistics 2019-2020

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The year in review

The 2019–2020 financial year has been a challenging period.

It is impossible to reflect on this period without focusing on the tragic circumstances that have unfolded across Australia and globally since November 2019 – namely, the devastating bushfires across Australia and the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, with its widespread community lockdowns, loss of life, impacts on the most vulnerable in our communities and severe economic and social impacts that have been felt by all of us.

These events have been deeply unsettling. As in most times of crisis, they have highlighted the worst of human nature and most importantly, the very best.

I, like many, have been humbled and inspired by the extraordinary efforts of our frontline workers in particular. But everyone is playing their part – most of the community have demonstrated their willingness to do their bit to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by social distancing and accepting very difficult restrictions on individual liberties and freedoms in the name of a greater good.

It has been the most extraordinary display of commitment. It has highlighted vividly that we are more than a collection of individuals. That we see ourselves as part of a community, with responsibilities to each other, and where the rights of others matter.

The ��鱨վ has played its part in the response to the pandemic. Our Commissioners have offered advisory support on the human rights implications of the pandemic, for example, by:

highlighting the gendered impact of the pandemic and in identifying structural reform to ensure women are appropriately supported and do not bear an unequal burden of the pandemic’s implications
developing resources for multicultural communities experiencing racism during the pandemic, and assisting government in engaging with these communities to effectively respond to the scourge of racism
playing a leading role in the development of guidance on the impacts of the pandemic on persons with disability and also Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
engaging with government on key issues relating to the restriction of rights and freedoms generally – such as by ensuring appropriate privacy protections with the COVID-Safe contact tracing app, encouraging the use of masks as a public health measure, and monitoring the scope of restrictions on freedom of movement, association and related rights (such as family reunion)
handling complaints of discrimination that have arisen during the pandemic, predominately relating to racial discrimination and disability discrimination
closely monitoring the impact of the pandemic on particular groups of people vulnerable to adverse consequences: such as older persons, people in immigration detention, and children.

While we have refocused much of our work in the second half of the year to deal with these essential challenges, we have also continued to promote better protections for human rights across the full year.

The report of the landmark national inquiry into sexual harassment in Australian workplaces, Respect@Work, was released in March 2020. Incidents of sexual harassment continue to receive much attention, across a range of institutional settings, highlighting the need for significant reforms as outlined in the report. It sets out a reform agenda for addressing this serious problem through cultural and legal reform, and in ensuring more systemic focus from government.

Over this past year, the Commission has also continued to conduct industry-specific projects aimed at achieving cultural reform around sexual harassment and abuse, as well as racial discrimination. A key focus of this work is through our longstanding partnership with the Australian Defence Force, which has been extended for another four years.

Prior to completing her term in March 2020, our National ��鱨վ’s Commissioner, Megan Mitchell, finalised the development of a series of e-resources on child safety to assist organisations of all sizes to build a proactive culture that can prevent child abuse. This work, and the National Child Safety Principles that they support, has been a major achievement for the Commission and will likely have a positive impact for many years to come.

The Commissioner finalised her term with the release of her sixth National ��鱨վ’s Report setting out a roadmap for protecting the rights of children in Australia. This followed her engagement with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child – which conducted its 7-yearly review of Australia’s progress under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

This work on child safety has also assisted the Commission to develop better capacity to deliver online education and training. We have significantly increased the scope of this work over the past year. In the coming year, we will look to build on this additional capacity by focusing on opportunities to create human rights education training for public servants.

Throughout the past year, as President, I also focused on the ‘free and equal’ initiative, our national conversation on human rights. This ambitious project aims to set out a human rights reform agenda for the next decade. Highlights of the project over the past year include the national free and equal conference, and the associated series of roundtables that were convened with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in October 2019. Workshops were also convened on accountability frameworks for human rights; federal discrimination law reform; and improving human rights consideration in parliamentary and government decision-making processes.

A series of reports from this project will be released from late 2020, commencing with the Commission’s proposed federal discrimination law reform agenda. The coming year will see the culmination of two major projects – first, by our Human Rights Commissioner, Ed Santow, on human rights and technology; and second, by our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, June Oscar AO, the Wiyi Yanu U Thangani report on the voices of Indigenous women and girls.

A discussion paper as well as national consultations, technical workshops and other activities have been conducted for the human rights and technology project over the reporting year. The outcomes of this report will be considerable in addressing issues relating to the use of artificial intelligence in decision-making processes and ensuring that the digital revolution benefits rather than disadvantages persons with disability, among other challenges.

The Wiyi Yanu U Thangani report is the culmination of several years of work engaging directly with Indigenous women and girls – telling their stories and their priorities, in their voices. It will propose significant systemic reforms to the approach of governments to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This will occur at the same time as other key initiatives such as the Closing the Gap national reform agreement and progress on the Uluru Declaration from the Heart. Common to all three of these reforms is the need for an Indigenous voice to sit at the centre of policy responses to the situation of indigenous peoples.

The Commission continues to play a role in the Closing the Gap process, with the secretariat for the Close the Gap NGO coalition continuing to operate from the Commission – as it has since its inception.

The Commission’s work on disability rights has also been significant in this period. Our new Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Ben Gauntlett, led our engagement with the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disability, and has brought a significant human rights focus to the refreshing of the National Disability Strategy.

Important reviews are currently underway examining achievements under the standards under the Disability Discrimination Act, which the Commissioner is engaged in, and the Commission has also regularly provided its expertise to the Royal Commission into institutional abuse of persons with disability.

Our Race Discrimination Commissioner, Chin Tan, has also led a major consultation process with Muslim Australians, the outcomes of which are due for publication in late 2020; and has been engaged with government in revamping efforts to address racism in all of its forms.

The Age Discrimination Commissioner, the Hon Dr Kay Patterson AO, has also focused considerable attention on the importance of addressing elder abuse in the community, through community awareness activities and in working with governments to implement the Australian Law Reform Commission’s report on elder abuse.

Alongside this work, sits the Commission’s work in handling complaints of discrimination and breaches of human rights. There was a 13% increase in complaints lodged with the Commission in this financial year.

All complaints that come to the Commission are lodged by individuals or organisations – the Commission has no power to initiate complaints itself.

I am very proud of the fact that our Investigation and Conciliation Service continues to receive exceptionally high satisfaction ratings from those participating in the process. It is notable that the highest satisfaction ratings come from respondents to complaints. That the Commission is seen as professional, supportive and impartial in how it acquits its role in addressing complex complaints, often in stressful circumstances, is a testament to the quality of our staff.

As we enter the 2020–21 financial year, the Commission is focused on building on its considerable achievements from the past year:

turning recommendations from our significant project work into action, including to better protect all Australians from algorithmic bias in automated decision-making processes, better protect people from sexual harassment, elevate the voice of Indigenous women and girls, incorporate the human rights of persons with disability into all government programs and policies
ensuring that in the continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the human rights of all Australians are only limited in circumstances that are fully justified as necessary, the minimal intrusion of rights that is required, and lasting for the shortest necessary period
ensuring that in the recovery phase from the COVID-19 pandemic, no-one is left behind and that certain groups of people in Australia (such as women and Asian Australians) do not bear a disproportionate or unequal burden of the economic and social consequences
embedding human rights protections in the ordinary processes of government decision making, to proactively protect the rights of all people in Australia better.

We look forward to Australia emerging from the pandemic with our communities stronger, and with people more connected to each other; with there being a greater appreciation of the importance of respecting each other’s rights and our individual and collective role in achieving this; and with the knowledge that no challenge is too great for our nation to face – knowing that bold, determined action can be taken on any number of human rights challenges, if there is a will to do so.

Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM

President

15th October, 2020

Commission – General

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Annual Report 2021-2022

partha.bapari — Wed, 02 Nov 2022 23:12:53 +0000

Annual Report 2021-2022 partha.bapari Thu, 03/11/2022 - 10:12

Complaint Statistics 2021-2022
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You can access the ��鱨վ 2021 – 2022 Annual Report at the Australian Government Transparency Portal.

The year in review

The 2021–22 financial year has been an extremely challenging one for the ��鱨վ, as we have sought to secure the institution’s financial sustainability, faced threats to our international standing and institutional integrity, and strived to meet the demands for our investigation and conciliation services, for Australians’ COVID-related issues as well as an increase in discrimination related complaints.

Over the past year, financial pressures that had been building over many years culminated in an unsustainable financial situation which was reported to the Attorney-General, the Minister responsible for the Commission, as a significant issue. Through independent review it became clear that, for some time, the Commission has been structurally underfunded and that we had also been operating beyond our annual funding sources. This meant that we were no longer able to maintain the staffing levels that would enable us to undertake our statutory functions properly. A cash injection of $16 million was approved by the Government in the MYEFO budget process in December 2021 as an initial step to address the financial sustainability of the Commission.

Alongside this, the Commission undertook substantial changes to strengthen our systems, procedures, and operations over the entire financial year period. We significantly reduced our expenditure, by first freezing recruitment and non-critical expenditure, then by reducing our staffing profile. As a result, the work programs of our Commissioners was heavily reliant on the ability to source short-term funding from external sources. All Commission work areas are operating with reduced capacity that is limiting our ability to deliver our functions.

With the support of a Tripartite Steering Committee, of the Attorney-General’s Department, the Department of Finance and the Commission, the evidence base for the long-term funding needs of the Commission has been prepared for government’s consideration in the October 2022 Federal Budget.

Our institutional integrity has also been under challenge, with the Commission’s ‘A status’ as a national human rights institution (NHRI) under threat. In March 2022, the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions conducted its regular, five yearly review of the Commission’s compliance with the Paris Principles relating to the status of national institutions. These principles set out the necessary conditions for a national human rights institution to be considered robust and credible – a sufficiently broad mandate to protect and promote human rights, the necessary independence from government to hold it to account, and the resources to perform its functions appropriately. National human rights institutions that meet these standards are accredited as ‘A status’ and accorded participation rights in United Nations human rights processes. The existence of an A status NHRI is an international marker of a government's commitment to promoting and protecting human rights, with over 120 nations having such institutions across the globe.

The SCA decided to defer a decision on the accreditation of the Commission until October 2023, rather than re-accrediting our institution, because of concerns about the selection and appointment process of Commissioners, while also noting the resourcing challenges being faced by the Commission. This is the first time that the A status of the Commission has been in doubt.

In addition, the work of the Commission has increased substantially over the course of the past two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, we have experienced an unprecedented increase in the number of complaints received, from a pre-COVID five-year average of 15,000 inquiries and 2,000 complaints a year, to 23,200 inquiries and 3,736 complaints in 2021–22, 1,960 of which were complaints under the Disability Discrimination Act.

I must commend the efforts of our staff during this time. They have faced enormous work pressures in addressing the unprecedented increase in complaints and inquiries, they have supported our statutory Commissioners with manifestly inadequate staff and resources, and they have implemented major reforms to our governance and financial management practices. This has been done in a period of great upheaval and an environment of great uncertainty. I acknowledge the significant impact on them and thank them wholeheartedly.

Over the financial year, the Commission has instituted significant reforms to its internal governance and financial management frameworks to ensure rigorous accountability and oversight. We have implemented these reforms with the close involvement, advice and support of our external Audit and Risk Committee, the Attorney-General’s Department and the Department of Finance. We have embraced the challenges before us. I am confident that as we end the financial year, we have robust systems in place.

We have, however, said goodbye to many colleagues over the course of the year, many having served the Commission for very long periods. At the end of the year, we had approximately 30% fewer staff than at its beginning. Our current staffing is not adequate to meet our statutory obligations properly, and decisions about the Commission’s budget taken in 2022–23 will be critical in determining our capacity as an agency, and potentially, our international standing and status. Those decisions will also be essential to ensure that we have independent capacity to support the work of our statutory Commissioners and address the exponential increase in discrimination and human rights complaints received over recent years.

Despite these challenges, we have continued to contribute to the protection and promotion of human rights at the national level over the course of the financial year.

As an example, when the Government needed an independent, robust mechanism to examine the culture of the Australian Parliament as a workplace, it put its trust in the Commission to deliver it. Led by the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, the Commission’s Set the Standard inquiry and report has launched a process of significant cultural reform of this key institution in our democracy. Related reforms are also being implemented in response to the Commission’s earlier Respect@Work report, to ensure the scourge of sexual harassment can be more effectively tackled through law and cultural reform initiatives.

It is telling that when the Government needed to ensure public confidence and trust in its response to allegations of abuse within the Parliament, it is the Commission to whom it turned. This trust was built due to previous work, such as the Respect@Work report, successive national prevalence studies on sexual harassment, and cultural reform partnerships across key areas such as the Australian Defence Force.

This inquiry was only possible due to a significant, single purpose short-term injection of funding to the Commission. It is a powerful example of what a properly funded Commission can achieve.

In her first full year at the Commission, the National ��鱨վ’s Commissioner focused on systems reform to improve child wellbeing and ensure the ‘voices’ of children and families inform the design of policy that is meant to help them. Key reports included ‘Keeping Kids Safe and Well’ and ‘Mental health shapes my life: COVID and Kids’ Wellbeing’. She convened multidisciplinary roundtables, and contributed to policy development on several national strategies affecting children and young people, especially those living with poverty and disadvantage. The Government announced funding for the National ��鱨վ’s Commissioner to develop cross-portfolio processes for consultations with children, young people and their families, to inform five national strategies over the next two years, including domestic and family violence, disability, child sexual abuse, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander early years development.

The Race Discrimination Commissioner, also with short-term external funding support, launched the next iteration of the Commission’s Racism. It Stops with Me campaign, with a compelling community service announcement and associated materials challenging us to see the world through the eyes of others to understand how our ethnicity or racial background affects life experiences. After several years of advocating for the federal government to adopt a national anti-racism framework, the new Government announced funding for this and the Racism. It Stops with Me campaign for the next four years. This will provide the Race Discrimination Commissioner with the much-needed capacity to significantly advance partnerships, research, and data to address racism in Australia.

The Disability Discrimination Commissioner advanced a significant new project, IncludeAbility, to increase the employment opportunities of persons with disability by developing a website, resources for people with disability and employers, an ambassador advisory group and meeting with the diversity and inclusion practitioners and CEOs of some of Australia’s largest employers. The housing needs of people with disability were also considered through a project with Monash University where universal design principles were considered when renovating houses in Melbourne. An exhibition of the house designs was exhibited for Melbourne Design Week and featured in Architecture Australia.

The new Human Rights Commissioner entered into partnerships with key industries to develop guidance materials to meet the human rights challenges associated with the rollout of new technologies and the use of artificial intelligence in decision-making.

These initiatives were also dependent on external funding support from philanthropist organisations and corporate partners.

The Age Discrimination Commissioner continued to deepen relationships across the community sector to promote awareness of elder abuse, as well as the challenges facing older women at risk of homelessness, and to combat ageism and age discrimination in the workplace. For example, the Commission launched the What’s age got to do with it? research report, which contributed national evidence to the body of research on the existence of ageist attitudes and prejudice in Australian society and provided insights into how ageism operates within and between generations. Ongoing efforts to raise awareness of elder abuse in the community has also culminated in the release of a new elder abuse awareness video and the promotion of elder abuse awareness resources in 20 languages.

The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner continued with efforts to implement the recommendations of the Wiyi Yanu U Thangani (Women’s Voices) report. These efforts will culminate in 2022–23 with an online safety summit to contribute to a variety of national action plans and frameworks on violence against women, and a national summit of Indigenous women and girls to lay out the key elements of a new national approach to advancing the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls.

As we look forward, the financial challenges facing the Commission will remain the dominating focus for the foreseeable future. Statutorily appointed Commissioners cannot be expected to ‘fund-raise’ in order to perform their functions. Our complaint handling section needs sufficient staff to address complaints and inquiries in a reasonable timeframe – before complaints become entrenched and too difficult to resolve. And we must have the base resourcing to maintain core corporate functions in support of these important outcomes.

There are also many exciting opportunities on the horizon. We will see the rollout of new national child engagement practices to feed into federal policy processes, and the initial stage of a national anti-racism framework, as referred to above. Long term work of the Commission encouraging the establishment of national preventive mechanisms to prevent torture, cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment will also culminate with significant external review of Australia’s progress to achieve this (by the United Nations Sub-Committee on the Prevention of Torture and a periodic review by the United Nations Committee Against Torture), as Australia faces a deadline in January 2023 to have appropriate oversight mechanisms in place. The Human Rights Commissioner will bring together her Commissioner colleagues from the AHRC and state and territory commissions, state, territory and federal governments, oversight bodies and NGOs, to contribute to a pathway to fully implementing appropriate preventive oversight mechanisms in all Australian jurisdictions by 2023.

Law reform occurs over a long horizon. Work of the Commission today may not be realised for several years – or may even take decades to come to fruition as, for example, the implementation of a recommendation in the Bringing Them Home report of 1997 to provide financial compensation to members of the stolen generations, which was finally implemented by the federal Government in 2022. Achieving the implementation of Respect@Work has been a multi-year endeavour and, over this coming financial year, we will see improvements to a range of laws and policies to achieve a more effective response to sexual harassment and the building of a preventative culture to ensure it does not occur in the first place.

The year ahead will also be an exciting one for the Commission’s Free and Equal project – setting out a national law and policy reform agenda for human rights. In December 2021, we released a Position Paper on federal discrimination law reform, setting out an ambitious agenda to reform these outdated laws. The current and forthcoming reforms to implement the Respect@Work report are only the beginning, and in the Position Paper we have laid out the agenda for reforming all federal discrimination laws to ensure that they are operating effectively and in a preventive manner. In the forthcoming year, we will finalise the Free and Equal project with two final papers: a Position Paper setting out an agenda for the positive framing of human rights, centred on a national Human Rights Act; and a final report setting out the key elements of a revamped national framework on human rights to ensure that we adequately protect and advance human rights in Australia.

The necessity for such reforms is pressing. There are weaknesses in our system of human rights protection that have been exposed during the COVID pandemic, and as we face the impacts of climate change and natural disasters with increasing regularity.

Human rights reform remains a missing piece in ensuring the integrity of government – ensuring that the human impact of decision making by parliament and government is at the core of law, policy and practice. The outcomes of the Free and Equal project will provide guidance for law reform for years to come.

In the meantime, the Commission will also look to continue to engage in discussions about the Uluru Statement from the Heart. The Commission has played a significant role in the momentum towards constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples over the past decade. Successive Social Justice Commissioners have led the call for this, with the Commission hosting the independent secretariats to various advisory panels and steering committees on the road to constitutional recognition over this time period. Most recently, the Commission hosted the secretariat that led the consultation process that culminated in the Uluru Statement.

As we move towards referendum, the Commission will seek to encourage respectful and inclusive debate about The Voice, including by ensuring that debate is based in fact, history and context. We will also continue to work with the Government to ensure that the institutional integrity issues facing the Commission are fully addressed. Parliament is currently considering a bill to amend the selection and appointment process of Commissioners. The Government has also committed to developing supporting guidance materials that will further enhance these reforms, and to conduct all future appointments through publicly advertised, merit-based selection processes. There will be three such appointments due before the SCA reconsiders the Commission’s ‘A status’ in October 2023.

All of this points to 2022–23 being a significant period of renewal for the Commission, with our eyes remaining firmly on our mandate of protecting and promoting the human rights of all in Australia.

Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM
President

3rd November, 2022

Commission – General

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Annual Report 2020-2021

Leon.Wild — Fri, 18 Feb 2022 00:05:12 +0000

Annual Report 2020-2021 Leon.Wild Fri, 18/02/2022 - 11:05

Complaint Statistics 2020-2021
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You can access the ��鱨վ 2020 – 2021 Annual Report at the Australian Government Transparency Portal.

The year in review

The 2020–2021 financial year has been a period of great hardship for many people in Australia and across the world.

The COVID-19 pandemic has continued unabated for the entire reporting period. Millions of Australians have been in lockdown with stay-at-home public health orders for lengthy periods of time. ��鱨վ have been educated remotely from home, and without access to the great benefits and community that schools offer. Borders between states and territories have shut, often at short notice and for lengthy periods of time. Families have been separated. Many people have struggled economically, with uncertain employment exacerbated by lockdowns and being felt particularly by the most marginalised in our community.

The situation has been overwhelming and has undoubtedly created challenges for the mental health of people across the community. But there have been signs of reassurance too.

Outbreaks of COVID-19 in Australia have been contained to a greater extent than most other places globally, although we are now challenged by the highly contagious Delta variant. Leaders of governments nationally have also engaged in regular, often daily, dialogue with the public to explain their actions to protect the lives and health of all people in Australia – something that is unprecedented in modern times. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities have been untouched by the virus for the duration of the pandemic – a testament to the success and importance of Indigenous community-controlled health services. And workplaces nationally have quickly adapted to more flexible styles of working from home and accommodating caring responsibilities – forever changing traditional cultural attitudes to work.

As with last year, I have been humbled and inspired by the extraordinary efforts of our frontline workers. Everyone is playing their part – most of the community have demonstrated their willingness to do their bit to prevent the spread of COVID-19, by social distancing and accepting very difficult restrictions on individual liberties and freedoms in the name of a greater good. So many Australians are now being vaccinated to reach the herd immunity that will make it so much easier to live with COVID-19.

The ��鱨վ often sees the most difficult aspects of the pandemic, through our role in handling discrimination and human rights complaints. We received a 35% increase in complaints when compared to the previous reporting period and this trend is continuing with current projections estimating over 4,500 complaints in the next reporting cycle. In the initial phase of the pandemic, these complaints were primarily related to race discrimination. Since then, they have largely related to disability discrimination, and human rights complaints relating to masks and border closures (both domestically and internationally).

I am very proud of the fact that our Investigation and Conciliation Service continues to receive exceptionally high satisfaction ratings from those participating in the process. It is notable that the highest satisfaction ratings come from respondents to complaints – that the Commission is seen as professional, supportive, and impartial in how it acquits its role in addressing complex complaints, often in stressful circumstances, is a testament to the quality of our staff.

We are, however, facing significant capacity constraints in dealing with the dramatic increase in complaint numbers over the past year.

Our Commissioners have also focused much of their effort on contributing to pandemic-related challenges – such as those affecting people with a disability, children, women, people from non-English speaking backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, people in vulnerable situations such as immigration detention, as well as in considering the reasonableness and appropriateness of limitations on people’s rights that have been introduced to respond to the pandemic.

One thing is clear from this.

People care about their human rights and fundamental freedoms. And they are troubled when rights are restricted.

As President, I have spent the year engaging with the community on the Free and Equal project: looking to the adequacy of human rights protections in law, policy and programs at the federal level. The outcomes of this will be released in the coming year when the Commission publishes a series of position papers and reports.

In brief, what these discussions have revealed is that our legal framework for protecting rights is extremely limited. Our anti-discrimination laws are out of date and less effective than they should be. This is accompanied by limited protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms more generally.

The pandemic response shows us that the community is willing and able to have discussions about the balancing of human rights, whether restrictions imposed are justifiable or not, and what would be the most proportionate approach to addressing an issue.

As we move out of crisis mode with the pandemic, it is timely for us to build on this dialogue and extend it to other areas of human rights concern in Australia.

As a nation, we should be having the same discussions about the myriad of issues that exist in our community.

Why do we not make better use of alternatives to the jailing of children as young as 10 years of age (especially when we know that we are talking about a small group of children, and the vast majority of crimes committed are minor)?

Why do we insist on detaining people found to be refugees in closed detention settings for lengthy periods of time, rather than placing them in community settings, especially when we know that the vast majority pose limited security threats to the community and that they suffer severe mental health impacts as a result of detention?

We know that when governments have failed to act to protect Australians, we often look to Royal Commissions to identify how people should be treated into the future. Royal Commissions into the treatment of people in aged care, institutional abuse of children, children in detention and care and protection in the NT have all had better protection of human rights at the centre of their concerns and proposals for reform.

It is time that we put into practice better laws and policies to protect people’s human rights rather than conducting Royal Commissions to examine human rights breaches after the fact.

It is my hope that one of the abiding legacies of the COVID-19 pandemic will be to open up the conversation about how best we can protect human rights and, by doing so, to best respect the rights of Australians wherever they are, and every day.

The past year has also been a landmark year in addressing sexual harassment. The Commission’s report of the National Inquiry into Sexual Harassment in Australian Workplaces, Respect@Work, was tabled in March 2020. Subsequent developments in the community, and most notably in the federal Parliament, have put much focus on the report and its recommendations. Amendments to the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) currently sit before the federal Parliament to implement some of the recommendations of the report. These amendments are a positive start, and the Commission looks forward to engaging with government and Parliament about the need to move further to fully implement the report’s recommendations.

The Commission is currently conducting a review of the Australian Parliament as a Workplace, led by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins, to report in late 2021. It speaks to the credibility of the Commission among the broader Australian community that we were tasked with undertaking this review – where our credibility, expertise and independence were all critical factors for the government.

The past year has also seen the culmination of two major projects conducted over several years – first, by our Human Rights Commissioner, Ed Santow, on human rights and technology; and second, by our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, June Oscar AO, the Wiyi Yani U Thangani report on the voices of Indigenous women and girls.

Both reports set out bold visions for reform to law, policy and practice, to equip the Australian community to maximise the benefit of new technologies and artificial intelligence, while keeping the rights of the citizen at the heart of new developments, and to better protect the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls, particularly by drawing on their strengths and addressing the structural barriers that they face in our community. Mr Santow concluded his five-year term as Human Rights Commissioner in July 2021, and I thank him for his contributions over this period. The human rights and technology report will be a lasting legacy for his advocacy over many years.

The new National ��鱨վ’s Commissioner, Anne Hollonds, commenced in this reporting year and has been focused on protecting the most vulnerable children in our community who are at risk of abuse, neglect, and separation from their families. National consultations with at-risk families and children have been held to inform the next iteration of the national child protection framework. The Commissioner has called for more joined-up, holistic support across the multiple national frameworks that exist to protect children – to ensure the most vulnerable do not fall between the gaps (or silos) of different systems.

The Race Discrimination Commissioner, Chin Tan, has also been focused on policy coherence in relation to racism and social cohesion. A concept paper was released in March 2021 setting out the need for a national anti-racism framework – elevating treating racism to the same level as how we treat the scourge of family violence, for example. The Commission is encouraged by the engagement of the federal and state and territory governments with the proposal. National consultations are currently underway and will result in a detailed model for future action by government.

The Disability Discrimination Commissioner, Dr Ben Gauntlett, launched the IncludeAbility project this year, designed to equip employers with the knowledge and tools to increase meaningful employment opportunities for people with disability. The project also provides important information for people with disability seeking employment about their rights, tips on applying for roles, preparing for an interview, and what they can expect from prospective employers.

The Age Discrimination Commissioner, the Hon Dr Kay Patterson AO, has focused considerable attention on the importance of addressing elder abuse in the community, through community awareness activities including a highly successful video, ‘Know the Signs’ and in working with governments to implement the Australian Law Reform Commission’s report on elder abuse.

As we move forward, the Commission is facing certain financial issues. The Commission has been operating beyond its annual funding sources. This is in part a result of cost pressures faced by the Commission including the costs associated with supporting Commissioners and an increase in complaints over the past five years. In addition, the work of the Commission has increased substantially because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Commission recording a 35% increase in complaints this year and this trend is continuing with current projections estimating over 4,500 complaints in the next reporting cycle. The Commission is working with the Government to address these issues in a way that ensures that the Commission can meet our statutory obligations in promoting and protecting human rights in Australia.

Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher AM
President

24th February, 2022

Commission – General

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Annual Report 2016-2017

connie.kwan — Sun, 22 Oct 2017 23:31:50 +0000

Annual Report 2016-2017 connie.kwan Mon, 23/10/2017 - 10:31

Also available: Complaint Statistics 2016-2017
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The year in review

This Annual Report sets out the performance of the ��鱨վ in the 2016–17 financial year.

This year has been challenging and rewarding for the Commission.

For the first time in our history, we have had a full complement of statutory office holders – with a President and seven commissioners. Four new commissioners commenced in this financial year, and I commenced as President in August 2017. This provides a significant moment for renewal of the Commission.

The past financial year has seen an unprecedented level of scrutiny of our complaint handling processes. Amendments to the handling of complaints occurred in the latter part of the financial year. The Commission welcomed these amendments, some of which the Commission initially proposed over eight years ago. A significant activity for the Commission in the years ahead is to implement these amendments and embed new work practices in the handling of complaints.

Our Investigation and Conciliation Service and the National Information Service continued to provide exceptional service to complainants and respondents. We know this through rigorous evaluation processes. Satisfaction rates with our conciliation service remain at a record high. It is particularly pleasing that the results reflect satisfaction from people who are in the midst of disputes – as both complainants and respondents.

An important aspect of the Commission’s work is to develop public and private sector partnerships. We have completed important work in the past year with:

the Australian Defence Forces – to embed cultural reform across the services and to identify responses to historic abuse
the university sector – to identify the prevalence of sexual harassment and sexual abuse within universities Annual Report 2016–2017
the business community – to implement the UN Global Principles on Business and Human Rights and advance domestic frameworks for the protection of human rights
the National Rugby League – to support their approach to addressing discrimination and building diversity and inclusion at all levels of the sport.

The Commission was recognised for the excellence of our educational products, with our Magna Carta web resources winning the Good Design Awards and our RightsApp mobile application was commended in the Smart100 App awards. We have a range of exciting new educational materials to release in the coming year.

We enter the 2017–18 financial year with many opportunities to promote human rights in Australia:

Constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples has moved to the next stage, with the Uluru Declaration and report of the constitutional recognition panel to government.
The issue of marriage equality will be put to the Australian people for their views.
Racial harmony and community cohesion will continue to be a key challenge.
There will be renewed focus on the appropriateness of laws to ensure national security and the rights of citizens.
A durable settlement of asylum seekers and refugees seeking our protection will continue to be a focus of national debate, especially as offshore detention centres close.
The Government’s nominated date for ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) will arrive and the necessary mechanisms to appropriately monitor all places of detention in Australia will continue to be considered.
The UN Human Rights Council will decide on Australia’s bid for a seat on that Council, and our human rights record will be scrutinised through appearance before three human rights treaty bodies on economic, social and cultural rights, civil and political rights, and racial discrimination.
The refreshing of targets to close the gap of Indigenous socio-economic inequality will be finalised, with a major challenge of ensuring the meaningful engagement of Indigenous communities in this process and its implementation over time.
Gender inequalities continue to be a national concern, most notably violence against women, the gender pay gap and limited engagement of women in leadership positions.
There will be a renewed focus on implementing the Commission’s Willing to Work report by promoting improved participation of older Australians and people with a disability in the workforce. A similar challenge exists in implementing the findings of the Australian Law Reform Commission’s 2017 report on elder abuse.
The evolving National Disability Insurance Scheme raises questions about how to support independent living and to ensure access to employment and housing.

The Commission stands ready and willing to assist the Federal Government by providing evidencebased, technical expertise on all aspects of human rights implementation in Australia. We continue our commitment to human rights in Australia being understood as applying to everyone, everyday, everywhere.

Emeritus Professor Rosalind Croucher
commenced as President of the ��鱨վ on 1 August 2017.

Commission – General

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Annual Report 2015-2016

ahrc.admin — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 01:17:37 +0000

Annual Report 2015-2016 ahrc.admin Thu, 03/11/2016 - 12:17

Also available: Complaint Statistics 2015-2016

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President’s statement

This Annual Report sets out the performance of the ��鱨վ in the 2015–16 financial year.

This year has been both a challenging and rewarding one for the Commission.

We have achieved the highest conciliation rates of complaints under the four discrimination laws since our inception 30 years ago. Satisfaction rates with our conciliation service are also at a record high. It is particularly pleasing that the results reflect satisfaction from people in the midst of disputes – as both complainants and respondents.

We have released ground-breaking research on the prevalence and nature of discrimination in employment against older Australians and people with a disability. The Hon Susan Ryan AO released the final report of her national inquiry into these issues, titled Willing to Work, before finalising her term in early July 2016.

An important aspect of the Commission’s work is to develop public and private sector partnerships including with:

the Australian Defence Forces – to embed cultural reform across the services, and to identify responses to historic abuse
the university sector – to identify the prevalence of sexual harassment and sexual abuse within universities
the business community – to implement the UN Global Principles on Business and Human Rights
sporting organisations, business and community groups – through the Racism It Stops with Me campaign.

The Commission has continued to face significant reductions to its budget. Such reductions are hard for a small public sector agency to absorb, posing a risk to the ability of the Commission to meet its statutory obligations.

We have continued to focus advocacy on some contentious human rights issues, attracting political and media scrutiny. We have nonetheless seen the removal of almost all children from immigration detention in Australia. The contributions by the Commission to consideration by parliamentary committees of proposed laws have been consistently acknowledged as useful in pointing out the human rights implications.

During this financial year we have also said goodbye to three commissioners – Elizabeth Broderick after eight years as Sex Discrimination Commissioner; Susan Ryan AO after five years as Age Discrimination Commissioner and two years as Disability Discrimination Commissioner; and Tim Wilson after two years as Human Rights Commissioner. Each has made a significant contribution to the protection of human rights in Australia.

The Commission welcomes the appointment of four new commissioners since February 2016: Kate Jenkins, Kay Patterson, Alastair McEwin and Edward Santow. A fifth appointment is now due following the appointment of Mick Gooda, formerly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, to his new role on the Royal Commission into the Protection and Detention of ��鱨վ in the Northern Territory.

We enter the 2016–17 financial year with the knowledge that the newly elected Parliament will face many human rights challenges:

The proposition for constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Racial harmony and community cohesion will be a key challenge.
A national plebiscite to amend the Marriage Act to recognise LGBTI relationships.
Laws to ensure Australia’s national security, while also not unduly encroaching on the rights of citizens.
Durable settlement of asylum seekers and refugees seeking our protection will continue be a focus of national debate, especially as evidence mounts of the mental and physical impact of mandatory immigration detention.
Efforts are being made to enable Australia to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) and to establish mechanisms to monitor all places of detention in Australia. The National ��鱨վ’s Commissioner will report later in 2016 to identify the practical means of implementing OPCAT.
The reduction of socio-economic inequality experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, and the continuing need for meaningful consultation with Indigenous communities.
Gender inequalities continue to be a national concern, most notably violence against women, the gender pay gap and limited engagement of women in leadership positions.
Participation of older Australians in the workforce is vital as our population ages.
The evolving National Disability Insurance Scheme raises questions about how to support independent living and to ensure access to employment and housing.

The Commission stands ready and willing to assist the Federal Government by providing evidence-based, technical expertise on all aspects of human rights implementation in Australia. As we celebrate our 30th anniversary this year, there are both achievements to recognise and serious human rights challenges to meet.

Gillian Triggs

President

Commission – General

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Annual Report 2014-2015

connie.kwan — Thu, 12 Nov 2015 05:25:15 +0000

Annual Report 2014-2015 connie.kwan Thu, 12/11/2015 - 16:25

12 October 2015

Senator the Hon. George Brandis QC
Attorney-General
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT
2600

Dear Attorney,

I have pleasure in presenting the Annual Report of the ��鱨վ for the period ending 30 June 2015. The report has been prepared pursuant to section 45 of the ��鱨վ Act 1986 and in accordance with the requirements of section 70 of the Public Service Act 1999.

As the Accountable Authority of the ��鱨վ I am responsible for the preparation and contents of the Annual Report of Operations. I approved the Annual Report 2014–15 on 12 October 2015 by signing a memo.

Yours sincerely,

Gillian Triggs
President

Commission – General

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Annual Report 2013-14

Matthew.Bretag — Thu, 13 Nov 2014 04:20:06 +0000

Annual Report 2013-14 Matthew.Bretag Thu, 13/11/2014 - 15:20

4 March 2015

Senator the Hon George Brandis QC
Attorney-General
Parliament House
CANBERRA ACT 2600

Dear Attorney,

I have pleasure in presenting the Annual Report of the ��鱨վ for the period ending 30 June 2014. The report has been prepared pursuant to section 45 of the ��鱨վ Act 1986 and in accordance with the requirements of section 70 of the Public Service Act 1999.

Yours sincerely,

Professor Gillian Triggs
President, ��鱨վ

cc: Joshua Faulks, Human Rights Adviser, AGO David Fredericks, Deputy Secretary, Civil Justice & Legal Services Group, AGD John Reid, First Assistant Secretary, International Law and Human Rights Division, AGD Sue Robertson, Assistant Secretary, Human Rights Policy Branch, AGD

Commission – General

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