It’s time for an inquiry into a Human Rights Act

An Open Statement from the NSW Community

As organisations and individuals from across NSW, we come together to call on the NSW Parliament to support the establishment of a public inquiry into a Human Rights Act for New South Wales.

We want to live in a society that strives for the values we all hold most dear – justice, equality and a ‘fair go’ for all.  We want to help build a society based on a culture of respect for human rights across government, parliament, the courts and our communities.

It is time for the NSW Parliament to conduct a comprehensive community consultation about legally protecting the dignity, security and interests of everyone in our state.

There has never been a better time for a conversation about a Human Rights Act for NSW.

The Australian Capital Territory, Victoria and Queensland have already enshrined human rights in Acts of Parliament. For more than 20 years, these laws have been delivering meaningful improvements in people’s lives through fairer laws, policies and practices in governments’ day-to-day dealings with the community in areas like health, housing, and education.

NSW now has an opportunity to learn from these jurisdictions and take action to put in place similar laws to protect the wellbeing of everyone in our state.

Recent major inquiries at the federal level and in South Australia have both recommended that states address gaps in the rights protections afforded to people by introducing a comprehensive Human Rights Act.

The NSW Labor Platform, taken to the last election and endorsed again in 2024, unequivocally supports a ‘community consultation into the introduction of further legislation to better protect the human rights of NSW residents.’

In March this year, we welcomed notice of a Bill to establish a Human Rights Act for NSW given by the Member for Newtown, Jenny Leong MP, and comments from the NSW Attorney General, the Hon Michael Daley MP, that the government is ‘open to considering the issue and working constructively’ on the proposal.

This Bill is now due to be introduced imminently, and we call on all NSW Parliamentarians to support the establishment of a parliamentary inquiry into the Bill. This will enable a comprehensive community-wide consultation on a Human Rights Act for NSW.

The inquiry should consider how a Human Rights Act would best articulate everyone’s internationally recognised human rights robustly and fairly in law.  It should also examine how the Act could best ensure our parliaments, governments and public entities uphold and protect human rights when they develop, implement and evaluate laws, regulations or policies. Importantly, it should consider how to ensure that everyone in NSW has accessible pathways to resolve disputes about their rights and effective remedies if their rights have been breached.

We know that big ideas come with lots of detail. We have reflected deeply on learnings from other jurisdictions, and we are ready to share our detailed proposals for a Human Rights Act that is effective and does not hinder the government’s ability to respond to immediate community needs.

It’s time for the NSW Parliament to take the first step and invite everyone in our state to join this conversation through a parliamentary inquiry into a Human Rights Act for NSW.

Signed,

1. Australian Lawyers for Human Rights

2. New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties

3. Community Legal Centres NSW

4. People with Disability Australia

5. Justice and Equity Centre

6. Children and Young People with Disability Australia

7. ANTAR

8. Homelessness NSW

9. NSW Society of Labor Lawyers

10. Human Rights Law Centre

11. St Francis Social Services

12. Refugee Council of Australia

13. Knowmore Legal Service

14. Centre for Law and Social Justice, University of Newcastle

15. Inner City Legal Centre

16. Australia Democracy Network

17. National Justice Project

18. Centre for Disability Studies

19. Human Rights for All

20. Redfern Legal Centre

21. Mums for Refugees NSW Inc

22. Disability Rights Connect

23. Rainbow Families

24. Justice Reform Initiative

25. Tenants Union of NSW

26. Trans Justice Sydney

27. Save the Children & 54 Reasons

28. Mid North Coast Legal Centre

29. National Regional, Rural, Remote and Very Remote Community Legal Network

30. Kingsford Legal Centre

31. Seniors Rights Service

32. Council for Intellectual Disability

33. Institute of Child Protection Studies

34. House of Welcome

35. Centre 360

36. Being Mental Health Consumers

37. Deaf Australia

38. Women’s Electoral Lobby

39. Parents for Trans Youth Equity

40. The Shopfront Youth Legal Centre

41. SHINE for Kids

42. ACON

43. Uniting NSW.ACT

44. South Coast and Country Community Law

45. Down Syndrome NSW

46. CALM Cultural Advocacy & Legal Mediation

47. Crossing Borders

48. Pride in Law

49. Equality Australia

50. Australian Lawyers Alliance

51. Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT

52. NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS)

53. Marrickville Legal Centre

54. HIV/AIDS Legal Centre

55. Mental Health Coordinating Council

56. The Australian Centre for Disability Law

57. Flourish Australia

58. Australian Human Rights Institute UNSW

59. Welcoming Disability

60. National Children’s and Youth Law Centre t/a Youth Law Australia

61. School Can’t Australia

62. UTS Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion

63. Women with Disabilities Australia

64. Environmental Defenders Office

65. Wayside Chapel

66. National Centre of Excellence in Disability Health

67. St Vincent de Paul Society NSW

68. Amnesty International Australia

69. Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Australia

70. Grata Fund

71. Shelter NSW

72. Interaction for Health and Human Rights

73. Women’s Legal Service NSW

74. Australian Federation of Islamic Councils

75. All Means All

76. AbSec – NSW Child, Family and Community Peak Aboriginal Corporation

77. Climate Defenders Australia

78. Intellectual Disability Rights Service

79. Australian Federation of Disability Organisations

80. Digital Rights Watch

81. Create Foundation

82. Bravehearts

83. Australian Youth Affairs Coalition

84. International Commission of Jurists (Australian Section) Section)

85. Asylum Seekers Centre

86. Maternity Choices Australia

87. Act for Kids

88. Australian Association for Adolescent Health

89. I CAN Network Ltd

90. Josephite Justice Network

91. Welfare Rights Centre

92. Human Rights Council of Australia

    Individual Signatories

93. The Hon Elizabeth Evatt AC

94. Professor Emeritus Ron McCallum AO, retired, former Chair United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

95. Professor Ben Saul, Challis Chair of International Law at The University of Sydney and United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism

96. Dr Graeme Innes AM, Former Disability Discrimination Commissioner

97. Adjunct Professor Nicholas Cowdery AO KC FAAL

98. Mary Crock, Professor of Public Law, Sydney University Law School

99. Craig Foster AM

100. Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt

101. Catherine Renshaw, Dean of Law, Western Sydney University

102. Professor Azadeh Dastyari

103. Professor Emerita Gwynnyth Llewellyn PhD MEd BA Grad DipContEd Dip OT

104. David Kinley, Professor of Human Rights Law, Sydney Law School

105. Emeritus Professor Simon Rice, OAM

106. Felicity Graham, Barrister

107. Dr Laetitia Greeff Children’s Rights Advocate

108. Meda Couzens, School of Law, Western Sydney University

109. Dr Fiona Robards, Senior Lecturer, The University of Sydney

110. Madeleine Bridgett, Barrister

111. Carmel Lee, Barrister

112. Nathan Kennedy, Human Rights Lawyer

113. Cátia Malaquias OAM, Lawyer and Human Rights and Inclusion Advocate

114. Damien Linnane, University Fellow, University of Newcastle

115. Bobbi Murray

116. Rutaban Yameen, LL.M / PhD Candidate

117. Tony Simpson