Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Totally Explained

Everything about The Human Rights And Equal Opportunity Commission totally explained

The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) is a national independent statutory body of the Australian Government. It has the responsibility for investigating alleged infringements under Australia’s anti-discrimination legislation. According to its website, 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.

Commission Presidents

The Hon. John von Doussa (current)
Professor Alice Tay 1998 - 2003
Sir Ronald Wilson 1990 - 1998
Hon. Justice Marcus Einfeld 1986 - 1990

Legislation

The Commission investigates alleged infringements under the following legislation:

Racial Discrimination Act 1975

Sex Discrimination Act 1984

Disability Discrimination Act 1992

Age Discrimination Act 2004

Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986

Public inquiries

One of the more visible functions of the Commission is to conduct public inquiries. Some examples of inquires conducted include:

Same-Sex: Same Entitlements Inquiry into financial and workplace discrimination against same-sex couples

Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families

National Inquiry into Children in Immigration Detention

Homeless Children Inquiry

Pregnancy Discrimination Inquiry

Inquiry into the Accessibility of electronic commerce and new service and information technologies for older Australians and people with a disability

Inquiry into Human Rights and Good Governance Education in the Asia Pacific Region

MacLennan-Hookham suspension

Gender identity and sexuality

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 and even today, because of a lack of support from the Australian Labor Party and the Coalition in the federal parliament.

Human Rights Medal and Awards

Since 1987 the prestigious 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. Other awards are:

Human Rights Community (Individual) Award

Human Rights Community (Organisation) Award

Human Rights Radio Award

Human Rights Television Award

Human Rights Print Media Award

Human Rights Arts Non-Fiction Award

Human Rights Law Award - sponsored by the Law Council of AustraliaFurther Information

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