Advocacy and Projects

The LIV aims to protect human rights and freedoms and to secure their universal and effective recognition and observations. Download the Protecting Rights pdf.

Reviewing the Charter of Human Rights & Responsibilities

The LIV is calling for

An independent panel to be appointed to conduct the Charter review, with a broad mandate and sufficient resources.

The Charter to be amended to include:

• Improved access to remedies
• An independent cause of action
• Inclusion of economic, social and cultural rights

Implementing Australia’s Human Rights Framework

The LIV is calling for

• The federal government to implement Australia’s Human Rights Framework in an effective and timely manner
• In the longer term, introduction of a National Human Rights Act to provide the legal and policy framework necessary to implement other changes in policy or law recommended by the NHRC report

Promoting the Rights of  Indigenous Australians

The LIV is calling for

Federal and state governments to:

• Undertake real and meaningful consultation and partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in measures to “Close the Gap” and reduce disadvantage
• Address the high levels of involvement of Indigenous juveniles and young adults in the criminal justice system

The federal government to undertake a national review of implementation of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody.

Human Rights-Compliant Immigration Laws & Policies

The LIV is calling for

• Serious consideration of the human impact of constant change to immigration law and processes
• Adherence to the rule of law and ensuring that executive powers are not used at the expense of procedural fairness and fundamental human rights
• Review of the appropriateness of the highly prescriptive policy framework in the immigration area
• Minimum standards about what is probative country information in protection visa processing
• Introduction of a formal system of complementary protection, whereby people who do not meet the definition of “refugee” in the 1951 Refugee Convention,  but who are still in need of protection under international law, can apply for a protection visa in the first instance to the Department of Immigration and Citizenship
• Reform of the health requirement to ensure that it does not operate to disproportionately impact visa applicants who have a disability or have a family member with a disability and so ensure that it is compatible with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• Changes to the immigration detention regime, so that unauthorised arrivals are detained in government operated centres on mainland Australia for a maximum period of one month and only so long as necessary for management of health, identity and security checks and subject to review by the courts
• An end to dual regulation of immigration lawyers, so that they are not subject to regulation by the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority in addition to state-based legal profession regulation

Promoting Equality

The LIV is calling for

• Consolidation of federal anti-discrimination laws that addresses issues beyond regulatory inconsistencies & overlap and aims to modernise & strengthen Australia’s anti-discrimination regime and promotes equality & fairness for all in a national Equality Act
• A further review of the Paid Parental Leave scheme over, in particular, review of employer-funded aspects such as superannuation contributions, accrued leave entitlements and the introduction of a mandatory “partner leave entitlement” to include a partner of a same-sex couple

Opposing Indefinite Post-Sentence Detention

The LIV is calling for

Less restrictive means for protecting the community from high-risk offenders, and transfer of resources from post-sentence detention to programs that aim to rehabilitate offenders rather than to further stigmatise them.

Retaining Suspended Sentencing

The LIV is calling for

The retention of suspended sentences and the protection of judicial discretion.

Limiting Police Powers

The LIV is calling for

Appropriate limitation and oversight of police powers, in accordance with human rights protected in the Charter.

Abolishing Mandatory Sentencing

The LIV is calling for

The protection of judicial discretion and the abolition of mandatory penalties.

Reviewing Australia’s Counter-Terrorism Laws

The LIV is calling for

The federal government to:

• Undertake a comprehensive review of the necessity and proportionality of Australia’s counter-terrorism laws, including an assessment of their human rights implications
• Urgently adopt the recommendations of the United Nations Human Rights Committee in its Concluding Observations on Australia (April 2009)
• Urgently review the classification of terrorist organisations, police search and seizure powers and provisions for controls orders and preventative detention
• Confirm its commitment to the 2010 COAG review of the operation, effectiveness and implications of the relevant amendments in each jurisdiction, and clarify of how this review will interact with the role of the National Security Legislation Monitor

Reforming Substitute Decision-Making

The LIV is calling for

The Victorian government to enact a single, comprehensive law to provide a principled framework for substitute decision-making and a single test for assessment of capacity.