Canberrans will soon have access to an improved complaints mechanism for human rights issues in the ACT, after the territory government agreed to a recommendation to update its human rights laws.
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Human Rights Minister Tara Cheyne on Thursday said work would immediately begin to draft and consult on legislation to give people in the ACT the ability to make a human rights complaint to the Human Rights Commission for confidential conciliation.
Ms Cheyne on Thursday tabled the government's response to an Assembly inquiry recommending the change.
The inquiry had been prompted by a petition to the Assembly calling for an overhaul to the complaints mechanism, which currently prevents the Supreme Court from awarding compensation if complaints are upheld.
"Expanding this existing jurisdiction would allow the community to make human rights complaints about any breach of the Human Rights Act by a public authority to the Human Rights Commission, and these could be resolved through confidential conciliation," the government's response said.
However, the government wants to wait until the complaints mechanism is in place before it expands the jurisdiction of the territory's civil and administrative tribunal to hear human rights matters that cannot be resolved by conciliation.
Ms Cheyne said the government believed it needed to first quantify the resources required to expand the tribunal's scope before it introduced the change. The government committed to providing an update to the Assembly by December 1.
"The government appreciates the potential benefits of a pathway to the [ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal] for breaches of human rights, noting that there are more complexities and resource implications for the proposal to enable a complaint about a breach of the Human Rights Act to be made to the ACAT for resolution," the government's response said.
"No human rights jurisdiction in Australia has a stand-alone cause of action for a breach of human rights to be heard by a tribunal."
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The ACT Human Rights Commission had put its support behind the petition to make the human rights complaints process more accessible in the territory, and told the Assembly inquiry earlier this year extra resources meant it could incorporate human rights disputes into its complaint handling and dispute resolution work.
"We can be proud that the vision of a human rights culture has been woven into the fabric of law and society with some success, but this legacy can be further built on by an accessible complaints mechanism," the commission's submission to a parliamentary inquiry said.
The petition which prompted the inquiry, brought by lawyer Sophie Trevitt and sponsored by Labor backbencher Dr Marisa Paterson, attracted 518 signatures. Dr Paterson on Thursday welcomed the government's position, saying it was a "really great result".
"It is our view that the ACT already has the infrastructure in place it needs to provide a simple and affordable way for members of the community to have their complaints heard, it just needs the legislative framework and resourcing to enable it," Ms Trevitt told the inquiry's public hearing, appearing on behalf of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights.
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Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
