Castan Centre for Human Rights Law

By Adam Fletcher I have already written on this blog about religious exemptions to the various federal anti‑discrimination laws, but there is another exemption which gets less coverage than it deserves. Section 52 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (DDA) says that the Act does not ‘affect discriminatory provisions in,’ or ‘render unlawful anything that […]

By Adam Fletcher Last month the Government introduced a Bill amending the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) to prohibit discrimination on the basis of a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity and intersex status, as well as participation in a same‑sex relationship. It is currently the subject of a Parliamentary inquiry, the Castan Centre’s submission to […]

By Erica Contini and Melissa Castan You could be forgiven for not knowing that the Victorian Parliament is passing unprecedented legislation limiting  the rights of young people to legal representation in child protection proceedings.  The changes were introduced last week, hidden in an obscure bill that gives no indication as to what it really contains, […]

Guest Blogger: Professor Graeme Orr, University of Queensland In the past week, one serving politician, Craig Thomson, was charged with a raft of complaints of fraud.  And one would-be politician, Julian Assange, affirmed his intention to stand for the Senate, come Australia’s federal elections, scheduled for September. In different ways, each man’s position highlights quirks […]

Guest Blogger: Rachel Ball, Director of Advocacy and Campaigns at the Human Rights Law Centre The recent release of the Federal Government’s draft Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill (HRAD) has reignited Australian debate about human rights, religion and the law. The current controversy is around the permanent exceptions in the HRAD which allow religious bodies to […]

Guest Blogger: Sophia Kagan, Castan Centre Honorary Associate ‘Why are you focusing on a problem that affects so few people?’ asked my interviewee, an academic in rural migrant issues. ‘Even the media don’t bother reporting it – that’s how small an issue it is’. We are discussing trafficking for forced labour in China and my […]

The Media is Offended by the new Discrimination Bill By Sarah Joseph, Monash University The media is right to be up in arms about proposed new laws. AAP Image/Alan Porritt The federal Attorney General has put forward a proposed new draft anti-discrimination bill. An enquiry into the Bill by the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs […]

  By Adam Fletcher Last week (on Human Rights Day) the Government released the final version of its National Human Rights Action Plan – a major piece of the puzzle known as the Human Rights Framework. In adopting an Action Plan rather than a charter of rights, Australia joins a mixed bag of countries which, […]

Children’s rights versus freedom of religion: the sanctity of the confessional seal By Sarah Joseph, Monash University In response to the ongoing cascade of accusations and evidence of systemic and decades long child abuse, the federal government finally announced a Royal Commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse on Monday. One possible recommendation is […]

By Adam Fletcher The Government announced this week that it has chosen former Federal Court Judge Margaret Stone to be the Independent Reviewer for Adverse Security Assessments. Justice Stone is the second Independent Reviewer appointed by the Government, following the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor appointed in April last year. Obviously the roles differ, but they […]