Chapter 2: Endnotes
1
James Spigelman, ‘Magna Carta: The Rule of Law
and Liberty’ (2015) 40 Australian Bar Review 212.
2
See, eg, Jean Porter, ‘From Natural Law to Human
Rights: Or, Why Rights Talk Matters’ (2000)
14(1) Journal of Law and Religion 77. See also
‘Rights’, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
(Web Page) <https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/
rights/>; ‘Human Rights Explained: Fact sheet 3:
Human Rights Philosophies’ Australian Human
Rights Commission (Web Page) <https://
humanrights.gov.au/our-work/education/humanrights-explained-fact-sheet-3-human-rightsphilosophies>.
3
‘Australia and the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights’, Australian Human Rights Commission
(Web Page) <https://humanrights.gov.au/
our-work/publications/australia-and-universaldeclaration-human-rights>.
4
‘International Bill of Human Rights: A brief
history, and the two International Covenants’
OHCHR (Web Page) <https://www.ohchr.org/en/
what-are-human-rights/international-bill-humanrights>.
5
George Williams and Daniel Reynolds, A Charter
of Rights for Australia (UNSW Press, 4th ed,
2017), 7.
6
Adam McBeth, Justine Nolan and Simon Rice,
The International Law of Human Rights (Oxford
University Press: 2011) 354.
7
Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth).
8
Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth).
9
Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth).
10
Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Cth).
11
In 2013, amendments were made to the Sex
Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) by the Sex
Discrimination Amendment (Sexual Orientation,
Gender Identity and Intersex Status) Act 2013
(Cth). The amendments replaced discrimination
based on ‘marital status’ throughout the Sex
Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) with discrimination
on the basis of ‘sexual orientation, gender
identity, intersex status, marital or relationship
status’: Sex Discrimination Amendment (Sexual
Orientation, Gender Identity and Intersex Status)
Act 2013 (Cth) Sch 1, Pt 1.
12
13
60
There are other protections against unlawful
discrimination in federal workplace laws, such
as the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), that entitles
the Fair Work Ombudsman to take enforcement
action against employers who unlawfully
discriminate against an employee or prospective
employee based on certain attributes, including
race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, age, disability,
marital status, religion, pregnancy and political
opinion.
Australian Human Rights Commission, Free and
Equal: A reform agenda for discrimination laws
(December 2021) <https://humanrights.gov.au/
our-work/rights-and-freedoms/publications/freeand-equal-reform-agenda-federal-discriminationlaws>.
14
See discussion in Australian Human Rights
Commission, Free and Equal: A reform agenda
for discrimination laws (December 2021) 277–78
<https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rightsand-freedoms/publications/free-and-equalreform-agenda-federal-discrimination-laws>.
15
Convention of the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities, opened for signature 13 December
2006, 2515 UNTS 3 (entered into force 3 May
2008) Art 13.
16
Convention on the Rights of the Child, opened
for signature 20 November 1989, 1577 UNTS 3
(entered into force 2 September 1990) Art 12.
17
See Australian Human Rights Commission,
submission to Senate Legal and Constitutional
Affairs Legislation Committee, Inquiry into the
Constitution Alteration (Freedom of Expression
and Freedom of the Press) 2019 Bill, 4 August
2021 <https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_
Business/Committees/Senate/Legal_and_
Constitutional_Affairs/ConstitutionAlteration/
Submissions>.
18
Law Council of Australia, Submission 166, Free
& Equal Inquiry.
19
Religious Discrimination Bill 2022; ‘Religious
Freedom Bills – Second Exposure Drafts’,
Attorney-General’s Department (Web Page,
January 2020) <https://www.ag.gov.au/
rights-and-protections/consultations/religiousfreedom-bills-second-exposuredrafts>; ‘Religious
Freedom Bills – First Exposure Drafts’, AttorneyGeneral’s Department (Web Page, October 2019)
<https://www.ag.gov.au/rights-and-protections/
consultations/religious-freedom-bills-firstexposuredrafts>.
20 George Williams and Daniel Reynolds, A Charter
of Rights for Australia (UNSW Press, 4th ed,
2017), 25–26.
21
See, eg, National Indigenous Australians Agency,
Closing the Gap: Report 2020 (February 2020)
<https://ctgreport.niaa.gov.au/>.
22
‘Prisoners in Australia’, Australian Bureau of
Statistics (June 2021) <https://www.abs.gov.au/
statistics/people/crime-and-justice/prisonersaustralia/latest-release>.
23 See, eg, Australian Institute of Criminology,
Deaths in custody in Australia 2020–21
(December 2021) <https://www.aic.gov.au/
publications/sr/sr37>.
24 Western Australia Coroner’s Report, Record of
Investigation into Death of Ms Dhu (16 December
2016) [6].
25 Western Australia Coroner’s Report, Record of
Investigation into Death of Ms Dhu (16 December
2016) [860].
26 See, eg, Amnesty International and Clayton
Utz, Review of the Implementation of the Royal
Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody
(2015) <https:/changetherecord.org.au/reviewof-the-implementation-of-rciadic-may-2015>;
Australian Law Reform Commission, Pathways to
Justice (Final Report 133, March 2018).