Parliamentary Committee Report Calls for Human Rights Law for SA!
A coalition of leading advocacy organisations has welcomed the SA Parliament’s Social Development Committee’s tabling of its report calling for the enactment of a Human Rights Act for South Australia. This legislation would secure basic rights and freedoms for all South Australians regardless of their background or belief, based on principles of dignity, equality and mutual respect.
The Human Rights Act for SA Campaign group (HRA4SA) – made up of the Rights Resource Network of South Australia, the South Australian Council of Social Service and Australian Lawyers for Human Rights – has welcomed the report’s findings and its key recommendations that:
- The Committee recommends that the Government consolidate the various rights and protections afforded to citizens in the many legislative instruments listed at p.14-20 into one comprehensive Human Rights Act.
- The Committee recommends that the Government transition the Equal Opportunities Commission to a Human Rights Commission.
- The Committee recommends that the Government conduct a comprehensive consultation with the South Australian Community on the model of Human Rights Act to be adopted.
This would bring South Australia into line with other states and territories around Australia where human rights have been enshrined in law for decades.
The report was tabled today by the Social Development Committee after a 16-month inquiry into the effectiveness of current laws and mechanisms for protecting human rights in South Australia. It heard from more than 130 organisations and individuals who shared stories about the loss of dignity, humiliation, discrimination, and barriers in access to justice experienced by their friends, family and loved ones. Their stories reveal significant gaps in the state’s current legal protections that leave too many South Australians to fall through the cracks. More than 90% of the submissions received supported the enactment of a Human Rights Act.
The HRA4SA Campaign is now calling on the South Australian Government to respond to the Committee’s recommendation by introducing a draft Human Rights Bill and commencing a YourSay consultation.
Sarah Moulds of the Rights Resource Network says: As South Australians, we seek not just a new law, but action that will help build a society which government, parliament, the courts and the people feel proud of and respect. We want to help build a culture that makes us a truly civil society.
South Australians have proposed better protections for their human rights, including their right to housing, the right to equal access to health care and education – these rights, amongst others, must be properly recognised in the new Act.
Kerry Weste, of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights says: A Human Rights Act for SA would finally give on-the-ground, local meaning to the internationally recognised human rights our country has committed to upholding for everyone, no matter who they are or where they live. It would reflect a society that strives for the values we hold most dear – justice, equality and a ‘fair go’ for all.
Human Rights Acts have already been passed in the Australian Capital Territory (2004), Victoria (2006) and Queensland (2019). Everyday these laws are benefitting people in concrete ways in relation to issues like housing, education, access to healthcare and much more. It’s time for the South Australian Government to ensure that people in this state receive at least the same level of protection for their human rights.
Ross Womersley, CEO of SACOSS says: Human rights should be at the heart of the work of our government and its agencies, from the development of laws and policies, through to smaller everyday decision-making that can so profoundly impact people’s everyday lives. Every South Australian should be able to access affordable, simple solutions for justice if their human rights are breached. The announcement of these positive recommendations is very encouraging and welcomed.
Arif Hussein of the Human Rights Law Centre said: Human rights, fairness and equality should be at the heart of all government decision making, we welcome the recommendation for a South Australian Human Rights Act which would ensure human rights are protected and safeguarded for everyone in South Australia. We’ve already seen how human rights laws in Victoria, Queensland and the ACT have made a difference to people’s lives – from overturning unjust eviction notices, safeguarding access to medical treatment, and stopping children from being locked up in cruel conditions. People in South Australia deserve to have these rights protected too.
Dr Alice Clark of Shelter SA, said: Australia is a signatory to various human rights treaties that include the right to an adequate standard of living, food, clothing and housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions. A Human Rights Act would help us to secure these rights and take significant steps forward in assuring the dignity and quality of life of South Australians.
Human rights protection was also identified as a top priority by outgoing South Australian Commissioner for Children and Young People Helen Connolly in her April 2025 report Missing Out where she says: South Australian Commissioner for Children and Young People Helen Connolly says: “Putting a strong human rights framework in place will improve the realisation of children’s rights throughout South Australia and raise the responsibility of governments to ensure all children and young people have what they need. Not having a Human Rights Act contributes to children and young people being overlooked and becoming and remaining invisible.
The Committee’s report is available here
Join the campaign for a Human Rights Act for SA today!
Briefing document on submissions to the Inquiry is attached below
Media Contacts:
Dr Sarah Moulds, UniSA and Director of Rights Resource Network SA: 0401132544
Batley Broom, Australian Lawyers for Human Rights, Communications Manager: 0488280796
Ross Womersley, CEO, South Australian Council of Social Service (SACOSS): 0418 805 426
Chandi Bates, Communications Manager, Human Rights Law Centre: 0430 277 254
Analytics from Submissions to the SDC
147 written submissions, 12 oral hearings
An overwhelming number of submission makers (88%) expressed support for the enactment of a Human Rights Act in South Australia. This is consistent with (indeed slightly higher than) the levels of support reported in the 2009 Brennan report at 87.4% and the 2023 AHRC Free and Equal report at 83%.
- 45% mentioned the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
- 37% mentioned the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR),
- 17% mentioned the Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
- 14% mentioned the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD)
- 10% mentioned the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP).
Category of Right |
Percentage of overall submissions |
Rights of Aboriginal peoples | 38% |
Equality before the law | 36% |
Right to safe and adequate housing | 30% |
Right to free expression of religion | 23% |
Right to a healthy environment | 15.75% |
Freedom of speech, expression, association | 15% |
Right to privacy | 8% |
Quotes from the Submissions to the SDC
SNAICC (National Voice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children) submitted that: “… the existence of a South Australian Human Rights Act will create a culture of valuing and prioritising human rights in public policy. These requirements and cultural changes will help prevent breaches of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’s rights.” |
Saint Vincent De Paul: “Access to adequate housing can be a precondition for the enjoyment of several human rights, including the rights to work, health, social security, vote, privacy, or education.’ “A fundamental purpose of South Australia’s human rights legislation should be to integrate a culture of rights awareness and observance across the broader community, and among key government service providers and decision makers.” |
Natalie Wade: “People with disabilities face disproportionate levels of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation, have significant barriers to access justice and continue to be forced into segregated settings at school, work and in housing. This a nationwide issue and South Australia is no exception. This is an unacceptable approach and must be changed. A Human Rights Act would see a proactive approach to creating better outcomes for people with disabilities.” |
LELAN said that a Human Rights Act would: “[r]ecognise and protect the rights of individuals, including people with lived experience of mental distress and psychosocial disability, to legal representation in relation to any limit to human rights that can be applied by law, government or other agencies including decision-making capacity hearings, guardianship and involuntary treatment orders.” |
Submission 56 highlights the submitter’s experience navigating the aged care system, and how a human rights act could contribute towards positive change in this sector. “My Dad recently passed away last August after suffering from complications related to advanced Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases in an aged care facility. … We had to witness the decline in the quality and quantity of food provided, the little extras like afternoon tea disappear, the numbers of carers and nursing staff to patient ratio decline to dangerous levels. … The Aged Care Charter had no legal teeth. It was pure rhetoric for us to defend Dad’s rights, and the rights of the other residents. It offered no recourse for a cause of action, resolution or remedy. However, as part of a Human Rights Act (SA), there would be the capacity for those who have had their rights removed, ignored, silenced, or violated, to stand up and have their voice heard in court where the benefit would be widespread and restore dignity, at the very least, to those who were once voiceless and invisible.” |
The Uniting Church also stated that ‘several of our congregations run Emergency Relief Centres and provide food and support weekly. Demand has increased throughout 2023 and supply of food is getting harder to source. The UC submission says that a Human Rights Act would help to: “build a fairer society, [where] all South Australians should have their human rights clearly and unambiguously enunciated, promoted, and enshrined in law.” |
The Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement identified a lack of Aboriginal interpreters (particularly in the context of legal matters and health settings) as a priority human rights concern, that negatively impacted a range of internationally protected rights including freedom from arbitrary deprivation of liberty, minimum guarantees in criminal proceedings’ and cultural rights. |
The Conservation Council of South Australia submitted that a Human Rights Act should include a right to a clean and healthy environment and Doctors for the Environment noted that: “[r]educing environmental injustice is particularly important for people who are already experiencing disadvantage, marginalisation or disempowerment, as they are more susceptible to the risks of climate change”. |
The Public Law and Policy Institute at the University of Adelaide said a Human Rights Act would: “generate a more robust rights culture within the parliament by requiring legislators to assess all bills at the time of drafting and enactment for their rights implications. In other words, it asks politicians to wear ‘rights tinted glasses’ when undertaking their legislative duties. Within such an arrangement, rights are injected into the very heart of the operations of parliament.” |
The Aboriginal Health Council discussed the benefits of a Human Rights Act as prompting governments to consult communities early in the lawmaking process: “The challenges currently faced highlight the inadequacy of current systems, exposing the ongoing discourse and need for change and reform. Shifting the policy focus from crisis response to a proactive human rights approach is important for all South Australians especially the most marginalised in our community.” |
Submission 52 highlighted that: “[r]ights-enhancing laws and policies that have been subject to meaningful community and expert consultation save resources because they are more likely to achieve their stated policy aims, and less likely to have unintended consequences or disproportionate impacts on certain groups within our community. When laws and policies are made in the absence of these key features, or when causes of injustice or inequality go unattended in our community, the economic costs can be significant.” |
