Membership of the committee

[1]          These are the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD); the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW); the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT); the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC); and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

Chapter 1 - New and continuing matters

[1]          See Appendix 1 for a list of legislation in respect of which the committee has deferred its consideration. The committee generally takes an exceptions based approach to its substantive examination of legislation.

[2]          The committee examines legislative instruments received in the relevant period, as listed in the Journals of the Senate. See Parliament of Australia website, 'Journals of the Senate', http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Chamber_documents/Senate_chamber_documents/Journals_of_the_Senate.

[3]          See Parliament of Australia website, 'Journals of the Senate', http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Chamber_documents/Senate_chamber_documents/Journals_of_the_Senate.

[4]          Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Report 7 of 2016 (11 October 2016) 93-94.

[5]          'Relevant offence' is defined as involving (a) violence against a person, including (without limitation) murder, assault, sexual assault and the threat of violence; (b) the harassment, molestation, intimidation or stalking of a person; (c) the breach of an apprehended violence order, or a similar order, issued under a law of a state, a territory or a foreign country; (d) firearms or other dangerous weapons; (e) people smuggling; (f) human trafficking, slavery or slavery‑like practices (including forced marriage), kidnapping or unlawful confinement; (g) attempting to commit an offence involving any of the matters mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (f), or paragraph (h); (h) aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring the commission of an offence involving any of the matters mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (g): new section 1.20KC(2).

[6]          Section 1.20KC(3).

[7]          Section 1.20KC(4).

[8]          See, section 1.20KC(4).

[9]          See articles 17 and 23 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 10 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In respect of children in particular, separation of a child from their parent is prohibited unless this is in the best interests of the child, as determined by competent authorities subject to judicial review; see article 9 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

[10]          Explanatory statement (ES), statement of compatibility (SOC) 10.

[11]          ES, SOC 13.

[12]          ES, SOC 12-13.

[13]        See footnote 2.

[14]        At subsection 1.20KD(1): in relation to a relevant offence or relevant offences if, for that offence or those offences: (a)  the sponsor has been sentenced to death; or (b)  the sponsor has been sentenced to imprisonment for life; or (c)  the sponsor has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 12 months or more; or (d)  the sponsor has been sentenced to 2 or more terms of imprisonment, where the total of those terms is 12 months or more.

[15]        ES, SOC 13.

[16]        ES, SOC 14.

[17]        ES, SOC 13.

[18]        ES, SOC 12.

[19]        ES 39. As set out above 'relevant offence' is defined to include a range of violent offences.

[20]        ES 39.

[21]        Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

[22]        ES, SOC 13.

[23]        ES, SOC 11.

[24]        ES, SOC 14.

[25]        Schedule 6, Items 4 and 7, sections 300.222(3) and 309.222(3).

Chapter 2 - Concluded matters

[1]          Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Report 8 of 2016 (9 November 2016) 9-11.

[2]          Persons aged 65 and older also do not quality for support under the NDIS. For the committee's previous examination of this issue see the analysis of the National Disability Insurance Scheme Legislation Amendment Bill 2013 and DisabilityCare Australia Fund Bill 2013 and eleven related bills in Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, First Report of the 44th Parliament (10 December 2013) 187-196; Third Report of the 44th Parliament (4 March 2014) 91‑100; and Seventh Report of the 44th Parliament (18 June 2014) 76-81.

[3]          Explanatory memorandum (EM), statement of compatibility (SOC) 13.

[4]          EM, SOC 13.

[5]             Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Report 8 of 2016 (9 November 2016) 12‑15.

[6]             See, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Sixth Report of 2013 (15 May 2013) Australian Public Service Commissioner's Directions 2013 [F2013L00448] 133‑134; Eighteenth Report of the 44th Parliament (10 February 2015) Australian Public Service Commissioner's Amendment (Notification of Decisions and Other Measures) Direction 2014 [F2014L01426] 65-67; and Twenty-first Report of the 44th Parliament (24 March 2015) Australian Public Service Commissioner's Amendment (Notification of Decisions and Other Measures) Direction 2014 [F2014L01426] 25‑28.

[7]             Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Twenty-first Report of the 44th Parliament (24 March 2015) 25‑28.

[8]             Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Report 8 of 2016 (9 November 2016) 12‑15.

Appendix 1 - Deferred legislation

[1]          See Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Report 8 of 2016 (9 November 2016) 93.

[2]          See Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Report 8 of 2016 (9 November 2016) 93.

[3]          See Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Report 9 of 2016 (22 November 2016) 61.

[4]          See Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Report 9 of 2016 (22 November 2016) 61.

[5]          See Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Report 9 of 2016 (22 November 2016) 61.

[6]          See Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Report 9 of 2016 (22 November 2016) 61.

[7]          See Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Report 9 of 2016 (22 November 2016) 61.

[8]          See Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Report 7 of 2016 (11 October 2016) 113. For more information on this inquiry, see the inquiry website at: http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Human_Rights_inquiries/FreedomspeechAustralia.

Appendix 2

[1]          Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Guide to Human Rights (June 2015).

[2]          Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, Guidance Note 1 (December 2014).

[3]          The prohibited grounds of discrimination are race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Under 'other status' the following have been held to qualify as prohibited grounds: age, nationality, marital status, disability, place of residence within a country and sexual orientation. The prohibited grounds of discrimination are often described as 'personal attributes'.

[4]           Althammer v Austria HRC 998/01, [10.2]. See above, for a list of 'personal attributes'.