• Principles to guide human rights protection in Australia The following principles have guided the Commission in designing its model for a Human Rights Act. A. Australian: We need a Human Rights Act that reflects our shared values and embeds rights into our own domestic system. B. Democratic: We need a Human Rights Act to strengthen existing democratic and rule of law principles. The model should be parliamentary, accountable, participatory and balanced. • Parliamentary – by preserving parliamentary sovereignty in a model based on dialogue. • Accountable – by enhancing the rule of law and providing a check on executive power. • Participatory – by improving the quality of public debate and enabling minority and vulnerable groups to have a voice in decisions that affect them. • Balanced – by setting out a framework for navigating the intersection of varied public interests and rights. C. Preventative: We need proactive measures to prevent human rights abuses, through a Human Rights Act that embeds procedural measures to enable early consideration of human rights, and fosters a culture of respect for human rights throughout the whole of government. D. Protective: We need safeguards against human rights abuses, through a Human Rights Act with pathways for individuals to access justice and redress through courts. E. Effective: We need a Human Rights Act that facilitates better decision making based on human rights standards, and equality of access to effective interventions to protect human rights. 14 • Australian Australian values align with human rights. Many Australians assume that human rights are already protected in Australian law. Despite community expectations, key civil and political rights like freedom of speech and protections against arbitrary detention are not fully protected in Australia. Social, economic and cultural rights such as rights to health and education also reflect important Australian values, yet these are only reflected in laws to a limited extent, and related services can be withdrawn at any time. A Human Rights Act would enable us to articulate and embrace our values through an Australian instrument. This would recognise the rights and freedoms that Australians already support, providing clarity and certainty. It would mean that Australians will have a shared understanding of what constitutes our rights, clear expectations of government and grounds for holding government accountable to these expectations. The systems set up by the Human Rights Act would ensure that the rights of all people in Australia are respected in everyday life. All of us deal with government agencies that make decisions that affect our lives. For example, when attending school, accessing healthcare or aged care, obtaining an ID or interacting with the police. A Human Rights Act will apply to all of these areas. It would support decision makers to consider human rights in a way that is more appropriate to individual circumstances and protect against arbitrary or unfair decision making. • Democratic Without a Human Rights Act in place, laws can be passed, and executive decisions can be made, without consideration for human rights. This has negative implications for democratic principles and the rule of law.