Australian Human Rights Commission Submission to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 8 May 2017 1 Introduction 1. This submission is made by the Australian Human Rights Commission. The Commission is an ‘A status’ national human rights institution established and operating in full compliance with the Paris Principles. 2. The Commission thanks the International Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) Committee for the opportunity to provide a written contribution prior to its consideration of Australia’s 5 th periodic report under ICESCR. We look forward to further engaging with the Committee. 3. The submission is based on work that has been undertaken by the Commission in accordance with our mandate and functions. The material provided here has been publicly reported in Australia and has been brought to the attention of the Australian government. 4. The proposed recommendations are contained in the body of the submission and compiled in Attachment 1 of the submission. 2 General information 2.1 Scrutiny of human rights and the role of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights (LOI 2; Concluding Observation 11) 5. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights (PJCHR) analyses bills and legislative instruments before the federal Parliament for compliance with human rights. The definition of human rights is the seven international instruments to which Australia is a party, including the ICESCR. 6. Since August 2012, the PJCHR has produced over 60 reports to Parliament assessing over 860 bills and the statement of compatibility with human rights accompanying each bill.1 The PJCHR provides guidance to government departments on their expectations about the level of human rights analysis that statements of compatibility should contain. 7. The Commission remains concerned that the findings of the PJCHR are often not expressly taken into account by legislators when they are deliberating on proposed legislation. The Commission is also concerned that Parliament has on occasion, passed a bill, which is the subject of a PJCHR review, prior to the PJCHR completing its review.2 A search of the Senate Hansard and the House of Representative Hansard since the opening of the Australian Parliament following the 2016 federal election, 30 September 2016, reveals that legislators infrequently consider the recommendations of the PJCHR during second reading debates. 8. The Commission welcomes the role of the PJCHR. However, we note that such scrutiny should not be a substitute for full incorporation of the obligations in ICESCR into domestic law, such as through a national human rights act or charter of rights. 3