Traditional rights, freedoms and privileges
1.1 The Australian Law Reform Commission has been asked to identify and critically examine Commonwealth laws that encroach upon ‘traditional’ or ‘common law’ rights, freedoms and privileges.[1]1.2 What are traditional or common law rights, freedoms and privileges? The ALRC’s Terms of Reference,[2] which set out and limit the scope of this Inquiry, state that laws …
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Read moreRights and freedoms under the common law
1.5 The rights, freedoms and privileges listed in the Terms of Reference have a long heritage. Many have been recognised by courts in Australia, England and other common law countries for centuries. They predate many international conventions and declarations that now also protect these rights—such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International …
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Read moreFreedoms enews | Issue 2
Issue 2 | 21 August 2014 View original formatReview of Commonwealth Laws for Consistency with Traditional Rights, Freedoms and PrivilegesWith the start of this Inquiry—‘the Freedoms Inquiry’—the ALRC has two substantial tasks ahead of it. The first is to identify Commonwealth laws that encroach on traditional rights, freedoms and privileges. The second is to determine whether these …
News/Media Release
Read moreNew Australian Law Reform Inquiry to Focus on Freedoms
The Attorney-General, Senator the Hon George Brandis QC, has asked the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) to review Commonwealth legislation to identify provisions that unreasonably encroach upon traditional rights, freedoms and privileges. See Attorney-General’s Media Release >> Proposed Terms of Reference Review of Commonwealth laws for consistency with traditional rights, freedoms and privileges I, Senator the …
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Read moreFreedom of expression
2.37 While open government is central to this Inquiry, another key principle of relevance is freedom of expression. This section of the chapter considers the international and domestic laws that protect this freedom, including the ICCPR and rights enacted in domestic law. It goes on to discuss the relationship between secrecy provisions and freedom of …
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Read moreRECORDING Maximising rights in religious education institutions: International perspectives
Human rights practitioners and policymakers have long considered how to ‘balance’ human rights when they intersect or overlap. But what if we have been using the wrong metaphor to guide this important work? As part of the ALRC’s Inquiry into Religious Educational Institutions and Anti-Discrimination Laws, the ALRC and Wolters Kluwer hosted a webinar to hear …
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Read moreWEBINAR Maximising rights in religious educational institutions: International perspectives
Register now Like Australia, countries around the world have grappled with the question of how anti-discrimination laws should apply to religious educational institutions. This engages a range of overlapping rights including the right to freedom of religion or belief, right to non-discrimination, right to education, children’s rights, and right to privacy. Different jurisdictions have – …
News/Media Release
Read morePrevious Inquiries
Extensive consultations have been undertaken previously on the issues under examination in the inquiry into Religious Education Institutions and Anti-Discrimination Laws. The ALRC is considering submissions and reported findings from previous inquiries, in addition to key reports, published over a 30-year period, from 1992-2022, at both Federal and State or Territory levels.
Inquiries
Read moreTerms of Reference
Review of Commonwealth Laws for Consistency with Traditional Rights, Freedoms and PrivilegesI, Senator the Hon George Brandis QC, Attorney-General of Australia, having regard to the rights, freedoms and privileges recognised by the common law,REFER to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) for inquiry and report pursuant to section 20(1) of the Australian Law Reform Commission …
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Read moreConsultations
Download Appendix 3. Consultations (PDF).NameLocationAiGroupSydneyAcademic roundtable, TC Beirne School of Law, University of QueenslandProfessor Simon BronittTC Beirne School of LawLorraine FinlaysonSchool of Law, Murdoch UniversityKate GallowayCollege of Business, Law and Governance, James Cook UniversityDr Noelene McNamaraSchool of Law and Justice, University of Southern QueenslandProfessor Reid MortensenHead of School of Law and Justice, University of Southern …
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