Australian Human Rights Commission Annual Report November 2022 In December 2021 the Commission released Free and Equal: A reform agenda for federal discrimination laws. The position paper sets out the Commission’s proposals for reforming federal discrimination law in Australia. The paper is framed around the four ‘outcome pillars’, which were tested through consultations: shifting towards a culture of prevention (building a preventative culture); shifting to a more effective compliance model (modernising the regulatory framework); enhancing access to justice; and improving the practical operation of the laws. The proposed reforms in the position paper build from the recommendations in the Respect@Work report to modernise and streamline all four federal discrimination laws, and the two complaint handling streams set out in the AHRC Act. President Rosalind Croucher AM engaged in a number of speech opportunities and events to engage audiences on the importance of the introduction of a Human Rights Act at a federal level. This included the Iftar dinner at NSW Parliament House; the Samuel Griffith Society Conference; the Sir Ronald Wilson lecture and the Michael Kirby Justice Oration. These engagements were an opportunity to raise the importance of a Federal Human Rights Act, in alignment with the work being conducted for the Free & Equal project. A second position paper for the Free and Equal project will be released in late 2022, setting out proposals for the positive protection of human rights, including by setting out a model for the federal Human Rights Act. A final report of the project will also set out a proposed national framework for human rights. 41