Australian Human Rights Commission Annual Report 2021–22 institutions. These principles set out the necessary conditions for a national human rights institution to be considered robust and credible – a sufficiently broad mandate to protect and promote human rights, the necessary independence from government to hold it to account, and the resources to perform its functions appropriately. National human rights institutions that meet these standards are accredited as ‘A status’ and accorded participation rights in United Nations human rights processes. The existence of an A status NHRI is an international marker of a government's commitment to promoting and protecting human rights, with over 120 nations having such institutions across the globe. The SCA decided to defer a decision on the accreditation of the Commission until October 2023, rather than re-accrediting our institution, because of concerns about the selection and appointment process of Commissioners, while also noting the resourcing challenges being faced by the Commission. This is the first time that the A status of the Commission has been in doubt. In addition, the work of the Commission has increased substantially over the course of the past two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, we have experienced an unprecedented increase in the number of complaints received, from a pre-COVID five-year average of 15,000 inquiries and 2,000 complaints a year, to 23,200 inquiries and 3,736 complaints in 2021–22, 1,960 of which were complaints under the Disability Discrimination Act. I must commend the efforts of our staff during this time. They have faced enormous work pressures in addressing the unprecedented increase in complaints and inquiries, they have supported our statutory Commissioners with manifestly inadequate staff and resources, and they have implemented major reforms to our governance and financial management practices. This has been done in a period of great upheaval and an environment of great uncertainty. I acknowledge the significant impact on them and thank them wholeheartedly. Over the financial year, the Commission has instituted significant reforms to its internal governance and financial management frameworks to ensure rigorous accountability and oversight. We have implemented these reforms with the close involvement, advice and support of our external Audit and Risk Committee, the Attorney-General’s Department and the Department of Finance. We have embraced the challenges before us. I am confident that as we end the financial year, we have robust systems in place. We have, however, said goodbye to many colleagues over the course of the year, many having served the Commission for very long periods. At the end of the year, 18