Page 3444 - Week 10 - Thursday, 20 October 2022
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The ACT government is committed to building and strengthening our culture of human rights across government and the broader community. The Human Rights Act 2004 was the first legislative bill of rights in Australia. It enshrines a range of fundamental human rights drawn from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
In late 2021, Dr Paterson tabled the No Rights Without Remedy petition in the Assembly, calling for amendments which would enable a complaint about a breach of the Human Rights Act to be made to the ACT Human Rights Commission, for confidential conciliation. The petition further proposed that, if conciliation is unsuccessful, amendments be made that would enable a complaint about a breach of the act to be made to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, ACAT, for resolution.
The Standing Committee on Justice and Community Safety considered these proposals through an inquiry, which concluded in June. The government made a written submission to that inquiry, and I appeared before the public hearings. The committee made one recommendation in its final report: that the government support and enact the terms of the petition. Today I am tabling the government response to that report.
In doing so—and while I am loath to bury the lead—I first wanted to reflect on the broader context within which the petition has been brought. It is important to note that the ACT currently has a robust system for individuals to enforce their human rights. Our Human Rights Act was the first, and remains the only, human rights statute in Australia to include a stand-alone cause of action for a breach of human rights obligations by a public authority. A person may start a proceeding in the Supreme Court against the public authority if they claim that a public authority has acted in contravention of their obligations under the act. A person may also rely on their rights under the Human Rights Act in other legal proceedings—for example, in proceedings in the ACAT.
The Supreme Court action, in particular, is a powerful tool to enforce, uphold and embed human rights across government. But, as petitioners and many who wrote submissions to the inquiry have raised, beginning proceedings in the Supreme Court for purported human rights breaches is not accessible to many in our community due to the associated costs and formality.
As part of our continuing work to strengthen human rights in the ACT, we have also expanded the Human Rights Commission’s complaints handling jurisdiction. It has grown from discrimination complaints, complaints about health services, services for children and young people, services for people with a disability, and services for older people. We have added new jurisdictions to enable complaints about the abuse and neglect of vulnerable people, prohibited conversion practices, victims’ rights complaints, and rental and occupancy agreements. This has enhanced the capacity of the commission to resolve concerns, improve services and support vulnerable people in the community.
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