The Australian Human Rights Commission (previously the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission) is a national human rights institution, a statutory body funded by, but operating independently of, the Australian Government. It has the responsibility for investigating alleged infringements under Australia’s anti-discrimination legislation. Matters that can be investigated by the Commission include "discrimination on the grounds of race, colour or ethnic origin, racial vilification, sex, sexual harassment, marital status, pregnancy, or disability." The Commission falls under the portfolio of the Attorney-General of Australia.
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The Commission investigates alleged infringements under the following legislation:
One of the more visible functions of the Commission is to conduct public inquiries. Some examples of inquires conducted include:
Private members, the Australian Greens and the Australian Democrats have tried to add sexuality and/or gender identity to the list of matters that can be investigated by the Commission, which has always failed to pass at least one house of parliament since 1995, because of a lack of support from the Australian Labor Party and the Coalition in the federal parliament.[1]
Since 1987 the Human Rights Medal and other awards have been presented at the Commission’s annual Human Rights Medal and Awards ceremony.
The Human Rights Medal is awarded to individuals "for their outstanding contribution to human rights in Australia".
In 2008 the Young People’s Human Rights Medal was awarded for the first time.
Other awards are:
The Commission is one of some 70 national human rights institutions (NHRIs) accredited by the International Co-ordinating Committee of NHRIs (ICC), a body sponsored by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). The Commission's "A status" accreditation allows it special access to the United Nations human rights system, including speaking rights at the Human Rights Council and other committees. The Commission can present parallel reports ("shadow reports") to UN treaty committees examining Australia's compliance with international human rights instruments. It has been very active in developing NHRIs throughout the Asia-Pacific region, and is a leading member of the Asia Pacific Forum of NHRIs, one of four regional sub-groups of NHRIs.