Australian Human Rights Commission facts for kids
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| Commission overview | |
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| Formed | 1986 |
| Preceding commission |
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| Jurisdiction | Australia |
| Headquarters | Sydney |
| Employees | 126 |
| Minister responsible |
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| Commission executives |
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| Key documents |
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The Australian Human Rights Commission is Australia's official group for protecting human rights. It was created in 1986 to make sure everyone in Australia is treated fairly and with respect.
Think of it as a national watchdog for fairness. It gets money from the Australian Government but works independently. This means it can make its own decisions without government interference.
The Commission's main job is to look into complaints about discrimination. Discrimination is when someone is treated unfairly because of who they are. This could be because of their age, disability, race, or other personal traits.
Contents
What Does the Commission Do?
The Commission has a very important job. It works to protect the rights of all people in Australia. It does this by following several key laws and international agreements.
The Laws That Guide the Commission
The Commission's work is based on important Australian laws that ban unfair treatment. These include:
- Racial Discrimination Act 1975: This law makes it illegal to treat someone badly because of their race, skin colour, or where they come from.
- Sex Discrimination Act 1984: This law protects people from being treated unfairly because of their gender, if they are married, or if they are pregnant.
- Disability Discrimination Act 1992: This law ensures people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else.
- Age Discrimination Act 2004: This law protects both younger and older people from unfair treatment because of their age.
- Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986: This is the law that created the Commission and explains all its powers and duties.
The Commission can investigate complaints about discrimination based on things like:
- Age
- A person's medical record or criminal record (if it's not relevant to the situation)
- Disability
- Marital status or relationship status
- Nationality
- Sexual orientation
- Being a member of a trade union
Investigating Important Issues
One of the most important things the Commission does is hold public inquiries. This is when they deeply investigate a big issue affecting human rights in Australia. They talk to people, gather information, and write reports with suggestions for how to fix the problems.
Some of the inquiries they have held include:
- Looking into the problems faced by homeless children.
- Investigating racist violence in Australia.
- Studying the challenges faced by children of immigrants held in detention centres.
- A review of how pregnant workers are treated when they return to their jobs.
- An inquiry into the sport of gymnastics, after athletes reported being treated poorly.
Who Leads the Commission?
The Commission is led by a President and a team of seven special leaders called Commissioners. Each Commissioner is an expert in a specific area of human rights. They are in charge of protecting the rights of different groups of people in Australia.
The main leadership roles are:
- President: The head of the entire Commission.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner: Focuses on the rights of Australia's First Peoples.
- Disability Discrimination Commissioner: Works to protect the rights of people with disabilities.
- Human Rights Commissioner: Has a broad role covering all human rights.
- Race Discrimination Commissioner: Fights against racism and unfair treatment based on race.
- ... Discrimination Commissioner: Works to achieve equality between men and women.
- Age Discrimination Commissioner: Protects people from unfair treatment based on their age.
- National Children's Commissioner: Focuses specifically on the rights and safety of children.
The Commission and the World
The Australian Human Rights Commission is part of a global network of similar groups. It is recognised by the United Nations as a top-level human rights institution. This "A status" means it can participate in important meetings at the United Nations, like at the Human Rights Council.
This status allows the Commission to speak up about human rights in Australia on a world stage. It also works with other countries in the Asia-Pacific region to help them build their own human rights groups.
In 2022, there were some concerns about how new Commissioners were chosen and about the Commission's funding. This put its "A status" at risk. However, these issues were fixed, and the Commission kept its top-level status in November 2023.
Human Rights Awards
Every year since 1987, the Commission holds a special ceremony to give out the Human Rights Awards. These awards celebrate people and organisations in Australia who have done amazing work to protect and promote human rights.
See also
- Human Rights Commission
