The HRLRC has made a submission on the Bill’s compliance with the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities 2006 (Vic) and Australia’s international human rights obligations, particularly in relation to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities [PDF] [Word].

While welcoming aspects of the Bill, the HRLRC considers that there are a number of significant concerns regarding the Bill’s compatibility with human rights obligations.  The HRLRC’s submission focuses on the following aspects of the Bill:

• the objectives and principles;
• administration of the legislation, including by the Mental Health Commissioner, Mental Health Tribunal and Review Officers;
• compulsory patients;
• treatment orders, restrictive interventions and regulated treatments;
• restraint and seclusion; and
• oversight and accountability mechanisms.

The submission contains 33 recommendations to improve the Bill’s compliance with human rights standards.

A coalition of 68 NGOs - coordinated by the Human Rights Law Resource Centre, Kingsford Legal Centre and the National Association of Community Legal Centres - has submitted a 5 page Report to the UN Human Rights Council on Australia, setting out key human rights issues and concrete recommendations, including in relation to:

• the legal recognition and protection of human rights
• Australia’s cooperation with international human rights mechanisms
• equality and non-discrimination
• women’s rights
• children’s rights
• the rights of people with disability
• GLBTI rights
• Indigenous rights, including in respect of the Northern Territory Intervention, the criminal justice system, native title, the Stolen Generations, Stolen Wages, and access to adequate health care, housing and education
• the rights of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
• prisoners’ rights and conditions of detention
• police use of force and oversight and complaint mechanisms
• the administration of justice
• homelessness
• mental health care
• human rights and counter-terrorism
• business and human rights
• international assistance and Australian foreign policy

The report was submitted to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva on 12 July 2010.

Further information on Australia’s review under the UPR process is available at www.hrlrc.org.au/content/topics/international-human-rights-mechanisms/universal-periodic-review-of-australia-in-february-2011/.

The submisssion of the Australian Human Rights Commission for the UPR is at http://www.humanrights.gov.au/upr/index.html.

Amnesty International and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services of Australia have also made NGO submissions on Australia for the UPR.

The Australian Government report for the UPR is at www.ag.gov.au/www/agd/agd.nsf/Page/Humanrightsandanti-discrimination_InternationalHumanRights_UniversalPeriodicReview. 

The Human Rights Law Resource Centre has made a Submission to the Scrutiny of Acts and Regulations Committee expressing concern that aspects of the Bill are incompatible with the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic). 

The Centre makes a series of recommendations aimed at ensuring that the limitations on human rights imposed by the Bill are reasonable and proportionate, including that:

• if the Bill is to be compatible with the Charter, the Minister must provide strong empirical evidence to support the effectiveness of involuntary detention and treatment;
• the Government should substantially improve access to voluntary drug treatment programs;
• individuals must not be made subject to a detention and treatment order in instances where they retain legal capacity and choose to refuse treatment;
• all persons subject to a detention and treatment order must have effective access to legal representation and advocacy support; and
• the Bill should be amended to guarantee that persons made subject to a detention and treatment order can access voluntary treatment services once the order has expired.

The Briefing Paper considers a range of issues regarding realisation of the right to health in Australia, including:

• The Legal Protection of the Right to Health in Australia
• Recent Reviews of Australia by UN Treaty Monitoring Bodies
• Public Health
• Indigenous Health
• Mental Health Services
• Asylum Seekers
• Homeless People
• Prisoners
• Women’s Health
• Climate Change
• Children’s Health

On 4 May 2009, a non-government delegation, comprising representatives from the Human Rights Law Resource Centre, the National Association of Community Legal Centres and Kingsford Legal Centre, will brief the Committee on the state of  human rights in Australia and measures to improve performance.  The Committee will release its report on Australia on or around 22 May 2009.

The Human Rights Law Resource Centre, together with the National Association of Community Legal Centres and Kingsford Legal Centre, has submitted the following materials to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights regarding Australia:

• Freedom, Respect, Equality, Dignity: Action – NGO Submission to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (April 2008)  [PDF] [Word].  This major report was compiled with the assistance of substantial contributions from over 30 NGOs across Australia.  It is endorsed, in whole or in part, by over 100 NGOs.  The Executive Summary of the report has also been translated into French and Spanish.  This report was intended to assist the Committee to prepare a List of Issues for Australia during the Pre-Sessional Working Group meeting from 19 to 23 May 2008.   It is also intended to ensure that the Committee is equipped to engage in a rigorous and constructive dialogue with Australia when it is reviewed by the Committee in 2009.
• Freedom, Respect, Equality, Dignity: Action – Addendum to NGO Submission to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (April 2009)  [PDF] [Word].  This addendum updates the Committee on major human rights developments between April 2008 and April 2009.
• Executive Summary of NGO Reports (April 2009) [PDF] [Word].  The Executive Summary was prepared as the primary working document for the Committee members and the Secretariat.  The Executive Summary:
  • provides a brief introduction and comments on the context of the review by the Committee, including significant positive developments in the promotion and protection of Covenant rights in Australia;
  • addresses the List of Issues developed by the Committee;
  • outlines our major additional concerns that are not raised in the List of Issues; and
  • includes an updated list of Proposed Recommendations that we consider would be important to include in the Committee’s Concluding Observations on Australia.

Together, these Reports provide a comprehensive and constructive analysis of the state of ESC rights in Australia and make a range of targeted recommendations to address disadvantage and poverty.  The Reports document a number of areas in which Australia is falling short of its obligations under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

The Reports focus on areas that have been the subject of extensive NGO activity and research in Australia.  Subjects detailed in the Reports include:

• the lack of legal recognition and protection of economic, social and cultural rights;
• the nature and extent of poverty in Australia and the need for a comprehensive national poverty reduction strategy;
• Indigenous self-determination and disadvantage;
• the current housing crisis and the significant problem of homelessness;
• groups within society that remain vulnerable to discrimination, such as Indigenous peoples, women and children, people with disability, asylum seekers and gay and lesbian couples;
• violence against women;
• the inadequacy of income and social security supports;
• the regression of workers’ rights;
• the crisis in mental health in Australia and the inadequacy of mental health care;
• the chronic under funding of both public health care and education; and
• the deleterious impacts of Australia’s immigration law and policy on families and children.

In addition to the Reports, the NGO delegation prepared Fact Sheets on Australia’s compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in the following key areas:

• Right to an Adequate Standard of Living
• Immigration Law, Policy and Practice
• Protection of Children
• Protection of Families
• Disability and Mental Illness
• Education
• Equality and Non-Discrimination
• Right to Health
• Homelessness
• Indigenous Rights
• Legal Protection of Human Rights
• Treatment of Prisoners and Prison Conditions
• Same-Sex Couples and their Families
• Right to Social Security
• Women’s Rights
• Work Rights

“]

Australian NGO delegation to UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in Geneva [L-R: Ben Schokman, Melanie Schleiger, Annie Pettitt and Emily Howie

In May 2009, the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights released its report card on Australia’s compliance with the Covenant.  Details of the Committee’s review, including a link to the Committee’s Concluding Observations, are available at http://www.hrlrc.org.au/content/topics/esc-rights/icescr-committee-releases-landmark-report-on-australia-may-2009/.

On 16 and 23 March, the Committee will be briefed by a coalition of leading Australian human rights organisations, including the Human Rights Law Resource Centre, the National Association of Community Legal Centres and Amnesty International.  On 23 and 24 March, the Committee will receive submissions from a high-level delegation from the Australian Government.  It will release its report on Australia on or around 3 April.

The Human Rights Law Resource Centre, together with the National Association of Community Legal Centres and Kingsford Legal Centre, has submitted the following materials to the Human Rights Committee regarding Australia:

• Freedom, Respect, Equality, Dignity: Action – NGO Submission to the Human Rights Committee (September 2008) [PDF] [Word].  This major report was compiled with the assistance of substantial contributions from over 50 NGOs across Australia.  It is endorsed, in whole or in part, by over 200 NGOs.  The Executive Summary of the report has also been translated into French and Spanish.
• Freedom, Respect, Equality, Dignity: Action – Addendum to NGO Submission to the Human Rights Committee (March 2009) [PDF] [Word].  This addendum updates the Committee on major human rights developments between September 2008 and March 2009.

In addition, the coalition has prepared Fact Sheets on Australia’s compliance with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in the following areas:

• Legal Protection of Human Rights
• Counter-Terrorism Measures 
• People with Disability and Mental Illness 
• Homelessness 
• Immigration Law, Policy and Practice 
• Equality and Non-Discrimination 
• Policing Practices 
• Indigenous Australians 
• Women’s Rights 
• Treatment of Prisoners and Prison Conditions 
• Protection of Children 
• Access to Justice 
• Extra-territorial Application of the Covenant 
• Climate Change and the Environment

The reports and fact sheets provide a comprehensive overview of, and make targeted recommendations regarding, the realisation of civil and political human rights in Australia. 

This submission by the Human Rights Law Resource Centre, Dignity, Equality, Freedom and Respect: A Human Rights-Based Approach to Mental Health [Word] [PDF], focuses on the aim articulated in the Consultation Paper: ‘that the new Act appropriately protects human rights in light of the Charter and Australia’s international human rights obligations.’  The HRLRC considers that the best way to promote the effective, holistic treatment and care of people with mental illness in Victoria is through a human rights framework. 

The MHA is more than 20 years old and reflects an outdated and inappropriate approach to the care and treatment of people with mental illness.  The legislation is currently inconsistent with the Government’s human rights obligations and legalises and entrenches unacceptable discrimination against people with mental illness. 

The HRLRC has expertise in the content and operation of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities 2006 (Vic) and significant experience advocating for the harmonisation of domestic laws with international human rights standards.  Our experience and expertise in these areas inform the scope and content of this submission. 

This submission does not address each of the issues covered in the Consultation Paper.  Instead, it focuses on those issues that are most comprehensively dealt with in international human rights law and jurisprudence, namely:

• involuntary orders;
• consumer participation;
• restraint and seclusion;
• external review;
• monitoring consumer well-being; and
• confidentiality and information-sharing.

People with mental illness in Victoria experience discrimination within society and the health care system which causes significant social disadvantage.   The review aims to shift focus from a response based on illness and acute intervention to one emphasising wellness, early intervention and recovery.  The consultation paper, Because mental health matters: a new focus for mental health and wellbeing in Victoria, invited submissions on areas such as prevention, early intervention and access.

The Centre’s submission focuses on first, the application of the Charter to mental health law, policy and practice and second, issues and policy suggestions raised in the consultation paper which engage human rights such as suicide prevention and age-appropriate treatment.

The submission also considers the application of the Charter to the Mental Health Review Board, involuntary treatment, detention without consent and restraint and seclusion.  The submission recommends that a human rights approach to mental health reform is necessary to ensure that rights of those experiencing mental illness are protected and promoted in a meaningful way.