Australian Human Rights Commission Submission to the UN Committee On The Elimination Of Racial Discrimination, 30 October 2017 3 Human rights framework Scrutiny of human rights and the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights (CERD article 2; CO 9 & 10) 12. The Commission commends the Australian Government for establishing the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights (PJCHR) in 2011. 13. The PJCHR analyses bills and legislative instruments introduced into the federal Parliament for compliance with human rights. Since August 2012, the PJCHR has produced over 65 reports to Parliament assessing over 960 bills. 2 14. The Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (Cth) requires each bill, regulation and ordinance introduced into Parliament to be accompanied by a statement of compatibility with human rights, defined as the seven core international human rights instruments to which Australia is a party. 3 15. The Commission is concerned that the PJCHR’s views and concerns do not always appear to be given consideration during the legislative process. It is also concerned that it is possible for a bill to pass into law prior to the PJCHR releasing its conclusions in relation to the human rights compliance of the bill. 4 16. The Commission is concerned that there is variable quality in the drafting of statements of compatibility within and across Government departments. 5 Some statements of compatibility devote cursory attention to assessing a draft law’s identified impingement on human rights and some simply assert (without due explanation) that a draft law is compatible with human rights even where an impingement on rights has been acknowledged.6 17. The Commission notes that some other parliamentary committees also scrutinise legislation and consider compliance with human rights.7 18. The Commission notes that the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) has made a number of suggestions to improve the mechanisms and processes for the scrutiny of laws for compatibility with rights and freedoms (including the PJCHR).8 Recommendation 1: That the Australian Government ensure that concerns raised by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights are fully considered in the legislative process. Recommendation 2: That the Australian Government ensure that all statements of compatibility are consistently of a high standard and are supported by evidence and analysis. 6