Civil rights
Media and commentary related to our work protecting and advancing civil rights. This includes police accountability, justice in youth detention, asylum seeker rights, discrimination, access to justice and Raise the Age.
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AHRC highlights serious health concerns for people in hotel detention
A recent Australian Human Rights Commission (‘the Commission’) report highlights ongoing concerns about the use of hotels as Alternative Places of Detention (‘APODs’) within Australia’s immigration detention system. The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (‘PIAC’) welcomes the report, which aligns with recommendations we have made since launching our Asylum Seeker Health Rights Project in 2016. The…
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Critics pan proposed changes to the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act
… The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) has pointed out inconsistencies in the bill in comparison to the existing Crimes Act 1900 – s93Z specifically – and the then-Labor Opposition’s 2021 bill to prohibit religious vilification, introduced by Shadow Attorney General Paul Lynch. While PIAC acknowledges the importance of protecting people of minority faiths in…
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Rising religious vilification draws move to toughen law
… The Public Interest Advocacy Centre also warned the scope of the changes was broader than most other Australian jurisdictions, including Victoria and Queensland. The amendments did not properly define a religious belief, affiliation and activity and opened a loophole for unlawful activities to be protected on religious grounds, it said.
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No time for tinkering: PIAC calls for rewrite of NSW discrimination law as Law Reform Commission review announced
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) welcomes today’s announcement in Question Time that NSW Attorney-General Michael Daley has asked the NSW Law Reform Commission to review the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977. ‘The Anti-Discrimination Act is failing in its most basic duty – to adequately protect people against discrimination as they go about their daily lives,’ PIAC…
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NSW religious vilification reforms ‘too broad and need further amendment’
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre acknowledges the need to protect people of minority faiths in NSW against vilification but believes the Anti-Discrimination Amendment (Religious Vilification) Bill 2023, introduced this morning by Attorney General Michael Daley, is too broad. ‘The scope of these proposed reforms is broader than most other Australian jurisdictions, including Victoria and Queensland,’…
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2SER: Calling for investigation of heavy handed Covid fines
PIAC and Redfern Legal Centre have filed a complaint against the former NSW police commissioner Mick Fuller and NSW Police, over what they say was a heavy-handed approach to handing out fines during the Covid pandemic. The complaint was lodged with the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission and asked it to investigate directives given by the…
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Anguish gives way to relief as Queensland allows trans people to change birth certificates
… Western Australia is also committed to joining every state and territory in Australia – bar one – by reforming its laws that require people undergo surgery before changing the sex on their birth certificate. New South Wales is the only other state or territory in Australia where the requirement still exists. Sexual reassignment surgery…
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Aboriginal elders support investigation into policing of COVID-19 fines in Walgett
… The Redfern Legal Centre and Public Interest Advocacy Centre has lodged a formal complaint with the police watchdog, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, to investigate the actions of police and whether they constituted serious maladministration or misconduct. Dharriwaa Elders Group secretary Virginia Robinson supported an investigation into what she said could have long-term consequences for her…
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Calls for an investigation into NSW Police issuing excessive COVID fines
Former NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller and the NSW Police are facing a formal complaint over their “heavy-handed approach” in issuing more than 60,000 COVID-19 fines between March 2020 and September 2022. Redfern Legal Centre (RLC) and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) have urged the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) to investigate potential misconduct stemming…
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ABC 7:30: The fallout from the AFL’s investigation into alleged racism at Hawthorn Football Club
PIAC CEO Jonathon Hunyor gives insight on the Human Rights Commission complaints process.