In this video, we will talk about how Queensland's Human Rights Act fits into the big picture of the modern human rights system in Australia and around the world.
Human rights protect the dignity and worth of all people.
They are something we recognize as belonging to all people simply because they are people.
Like most countries in the world, Australia has committed to respect, protect and promote human rights by signing up to international human rights treaties.
Australia has also played an important role in drafting the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which laid the foundation for a modern human rights system.
After World War Two, within Australia, human rights are protected by a range of different laws at both state and federal level.
For example, there are various laws which prohibit discrimination against people because of attributes like race, sex or disability.
In 2019, Queensland decided to introduce a new law to strengthen the protection of human rights in our state.
This law, which is called the Human Rights Act, has been in force since the 1 January 2020.
It was modeled on similar laws in the Act and Victoria.
The Human Rights Act introduced what we call a dialog model of human rights.
This means that the different parts of government are encouraged to talk to each other about how to define, protect and reasonably limit human rights.
The public service, Parliament and the courts each have a role to play in protecting human rights first.
In Parliament, new laws must be introduced within a document called A Statement of Compatibility, which assesses the impact of the law on human rights and explains why the law is compatible with human rights.
Parliamentary committees will scrutinise these statements when they are assessing new laws.
Next, the courts must interpret laws in a way that is compatible with human rights.
Where possible to do so and may make a declaration if they find a law is not compatible with human rights.
Lastly, public entities which include government departments, public service employees and ministers, must act and make decisions in a way that is compatible with human rights and must give proper consideration to relevant human rights when making decisions.
As government employees we all have a role to play in building a culture that respects and promotes human rights in Queensland.