Human Rights in Australia

When the Queensland Parliament recently enacted a Human Rights Act, it became the third State or Territory to introduce a statutory human rights Act in Australia. The Victorian, ACT and Queensland statutory human rights Acts and Commonwealth Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 form part of the domestic human rights legal protections in Australia. This subject will take an in-depth look at the operation of the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities , the ACT and Queensland Human Rights Acts and the Commonwealth scrutiny of legislation for compatibility with human rights, with a focus on how these instruments have operated in practice. The focus of this subject is on these particular statutory human rights Acts.