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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Politics triumphs over evidence as Attorneys General fail on raising the age
The statement by national Attorneys General to ‘support developing a proposal’ to increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 12 is a political fudge that changes nothing and leaves children exposed to harm. Despite considering this issue for years and overwhelming evidence supporting the need to act urgently to raise the age…
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Shoebridge Bill highlights need for action to raise the age
An alliance of community, legal, and First Nations justice organisations has welcomed the Children (Criminal Proceedings) Amendment (Age of Criminal Responsibility) Bill 2021, introduced to NSW Parliament this morning by David Shoebridge MLC. This Bill would raise the age of criminal responsibility in NSW to 14, creating both better outcomes for children kept out of…
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Mental health and who has the right to insurance
PIAC Senior Solicitor Ellen Tilbury on ABC RN Life Matters.
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Mental health discrimination by insurers: new report calls for urgent ASIC investigation
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) should immediately investigate how life insurers treat people with past or current mental health conditions, in response to continuing widespread discrimination by life insurers. This is a key recommendation of Mental Health Discrimination in Insurance – which is the culmination of ten years of work by PIAC’s Mental…
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Challenging excessive bail enforcement checking
PIAC challenges excessive bail enforcement checking, holding police to account for misuse of power.
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Human rights investigations: remote and restricted access interviews
Interviewing witnesses is a fundamental part of international human rights and criminal investigations, fact-finding missions and the research of non-government organisations. Insecurity and official refusals to grant access to investigators can make in-person interviews with witnesses impossible. The COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on travel and personal contact have exacerbated challenges surrounding access to witnesses. Can…
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PIAC ‘cautiously welcomes’ commitment to prohibit religious discrimination
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre cautiously welcomes reports that NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman will develop legislation to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religious belief. ‘The failure of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act to prohibit discrimination on the basis of religious belief is a real gap that should be addressed,’ PIAC CEO Jonathon Hunyor said.…
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International human rights fact-finding during COVID and beyond: first-of-its-kind guide to support restricted access interviews
The first, detailed guide on collecting witness testimony for human rights investigations with restricted access has been released by the Public Interest Advocacy Centre’s Truth and Accountability Program. Restricted access interviews: a guide to interviewing witnesses in remote human rights investigations, is a freely-available publication, developed with the assistance of global experts. It provides recommendations on gathering witness testimony remotely and/or from witnesses outside the country under investigation. …
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Advocates say NSW anti-discrimination laws are failing vulnerable
Experts and community groups ask attorney general Mark Speakman to review ‘terrible’ and outdated act.