{"id":668273,"date":"2022-11-07T11:53:31","date_gmt":"2022-11-07T00:53:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org.au\/?p=668273"},"modified":"2023-06-23T13:40:16","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T03:40:16","slug":"explainer-why-we-need-a-human-rights-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org.au\/explainer-why-we-need-a-human-rights-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Explainer: Why we need a Human Rights Act for Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Australia doesn\u2019t have a Human Rights Act that protects human rights in law \u2014 it\u2018s the only liberal democracy in the world without one.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Human rights<\/a> are the fundamental freedoms and protections that belong to all of us, ensuring everyone is treated equally, justly and with respect. Rights are about being treated, and treating others fairly and ensuring everyone has the ability to make choices about their own lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Current status of human rights in Australia<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Which of our human rights are protected?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Australians currently enjoy very few legal protections for their basic rights. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Currently, Australia has anti-discrimination laws that only protect people from discrimination on the basis of their sexuality, gender, age, race, and disability. They do not protect all our rights, including our right to access healthcare, to an education, to a healthy environment, and the rights of children. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means if you, or someone you love, suffers a human rights abuse, there\u2019s not much you can do to hold those responsible accountable, or to get remedies for those abuses. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what can you do if your human rights are abused?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The short answer is not a lot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you complain about an abuse, the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) can investigate. If that complaint isn\u2019t resolved through a conciliation process, then complaints about discrimination may be taken to court. If your complaint involves a right that\u2019s not the right to live free from discrimination, there\u2019s nothing more you can do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The current system is fundamentally flawed and doesn\u2019t prevent human rights abuses from happening. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The time to protect human rights is now<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Housing crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Australia is in the midst of a housing crisis. As a renter, there isn\u2019t much you can do if you\u2019re threatened with eviction. National laws should protect the right to housing, so you have the ability to challenge forced evictions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Human Rights Act would put the power back in your hands and guarantee your right to housing, healthcare, education, and more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Robodebt<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From 2016 to 2019, the Morrison government issued 450,000 unlawful and incorrect robodebts. People were harassed by debt collectors and paid thousands of dollars, adding pressure at a time when Australians were struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Human Rights Act would require the government to consider the human rights impacts on vulnerable Australians before roll-out, and could have provided safeguards to help prevent robodebt to protect rights to social security and a decent standard of living. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aged care<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The findings of the Aged Care Royal Commission in 2021 laid bare the abuses so many older people face in Australia under the aged care system. Abuse and neglect, sexual abuse, the use of chemical restraints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Human Rights Act would protect our rights in laws so older people and their families can challenge abuses, and ensure the right to safe, high quality care and services, to always be treated with dignity and respect, and to enjoy their lives in freedom and safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Religious Discrimination Bill: LGBTQIA+ rights<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, the Morrison government proposed the Religious Discrimination Bill supposedly protecting religious people from discrimination. In reality, it would give religious people the right to discriminate against others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That Bill threatened LGBTQIA+ people, women, people with disabilities, and even other people of faith, and is a good example of how Australia\u2019s patchwork of human rights protections don\u2019t protect all our rights. Australia\u2019s anti-discrimination laws don\u2019t protect people from discrimination on the basis of their religious beliefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Human Rights Act, by contrast, would protect people against discrimination based on their religious beliefs, but also protect the rights of LGBTQIA+ people, people with disabilities, and women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our vision for human rights: A Human Rights Act<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What would a Human Rights Act actually do?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A single, national Human Rights Act would benefit all of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It would protect the rights of all Australians, giving us a tool to fight for the fundamental rights and freedoms that belong to all of us. It would also hold those in power to account, forcing the government to consider human rights in their laws, policies and practices. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Human Rights Act will:<\/p>\n\n\n\n