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,
- Australian Lawyers for Human Rights
- New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties
- Community Legal Centres NSW
- People with Disability Australia
- Justice and Equity Centre
- Children and Young People with Disability Australia
- ANTAR
- Homelessness NSW
- NSW Society of Labor Lawyers
- Human Rights Law Centre
- St Francis Social Services
- Refugee Council of Australia
- Knowmore Legal Service
- Centre for Law and Social Justice, University of Newcastle
- Inner City Legal Centre
- Australia Democracy Network
- National Justice Project
- Centre for Disability Studies
- Human Rights for All
- Redfern Legal Centre
- Mums for Refugees NSW Inc
- Disability Rights Connect
- Rainbow Families
- Justice Reform Initiative
- Tenants Union of NSW
- Trans Justice Sydney
- Save the Children & 54 Reasons
- Mid North Coast Legal Centre
- National Regional, Rural, Remote and Very Remote Community Legal Network
- Kingsford Legal Centre
- Seniors Rights Service
- Council for Intellectual Disability
- Institute of Child Protection Studies
- House of Welcome
- Centre 360
- Being Mental Health Consumers
- Deaf Australia
- Women’s Electoral Lobby
- Parents for Trans Youth Equity
- The Shopfront Youth Legal Centre
- SHINE for Kids
- ACON
- Uniting NSW.ACT
- South Coast and Country Community Law
- Down Syndrome NSW
- CALM Cultural Advocacy & Legal Mediation
- Crossing Borders
- Pride in Law
- Equality Australia
- Australian Lawyers Alliance
- Aboriginal Legal Service NSW/ACT
- NSW Council of Social Service (NCOSS)
- Marrickville Legal Centre
- HIV/AIDS Legal Centre
- Mental Health Coordinating Council
- The Australian Centre for Disability Law
- Flourish Australia
- Australian Human Rights Institute UNSW
- Welcoming Disability
- National Children’s and Youth Law Centre t/a Youth Law Australia
- School Can’t Australia
- UTS Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion
- Women with Disabilities Australia
- Environmental Defenders Office
- Wayside Chapel
- National Centre of Excellence in Disability Health
- St Vincent de Paul Society NSW
- Amnesty International Australia
- Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) Australia
- Grata Fund
- Shelter NSW
- Interaction for Health and Human Rights
- Women’s Legal Service NSW
- Australian Federation of Islamic Councils
- All Means All
- AbSec – NSW Child, Family and Community Peak Aboriginal Corporation
- Climate Defenders Australia
- Intellectual Disability Rights Service
- Australian Federation of Disability Organisations
- Digital Rights Watch
- Create Foundation
- Bravehearts
- Australian Youth Affairs Coalition
- International Commission of Jurists (Australian Section) Section)
- Asylum Seekers Centre
- Maternity Choices Australia
- Act for Kids
- Australian Association for Adolescent Health
- I CAN Network Ltd
- Josephite Justice Network
- Individual Signatories
- The Hon Elizabeth Evatt AC
- Professor Emeritus Ron McCallum AO, retired, former Chair United Nations Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
- Professor Ben Saul, Challis Chair of International Law at The University of Sydney and United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Counter-Terrorism
- Dr Graeme Innes AM, Former Disability Discrimination Commissioner
- Adjunct Professor Nicholas Cowdery AO KC FAAL
- Mary Crock, Professor of Public Law, Sydney University Law School
- Craig Foster AM
- Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt
- Catherine Renshaw, Dean of Law, Western Sydney University
- Professor Azadeh Dastyari
- Professor Emerita Gwynnyth Llewellyn PhD MEd BA Grad DipContEd Dip OT
- David Kinley, Professor of Human Rights Law, Sydney Law School
- Emeritus Professor Simon Rice, OAM
- Felicity Graham, Barrister
- Dr Laetitia Greeff Children’s Rights Advocate
- Meda Couzens, School of Law, Western Sydney University
- Dr Fiona Robards, Senior Lecturer, The University of Sydney
- Madeleine Bridgett, Barrister
- Carmel Lee, Barrister
- Nathan Kennedy, Human Rights Lawyer
- Cátia Malaquias OAM, Lawyer and Human Rights and Inclusion Advocate
- Damien Linnane, University Fellow, University of Newcastle
- Bobbi Murray
- Rutaban Yameen, LL.M / PhD Candidate
- Tony Simpson
Seniors Rights Service exists to advocate for older people, assisting them to claim and exercise their rights. The implementation of a Human Rights Act will safeguard the rights and dignity of all and allow for meaningful pathways to justice when a denial has occurred. We see firsthand the detrimental impacts the lack of access to rights can have on older people and we also know it does not have to be this way.
