Making a human rights complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission
Key takeaways
Individuals can lodge complaints with the Australian Human Rights Commission (Commission) alleging breaches of human rights identified in the Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth) (AHRC Act).
A human rights complaint must:
- be made in writing by a person who is ‘aggrieved’ or by someone on their behalf;
- identify who the complaint is about, the alleged act, practice or omission which breached any human right and, which human right(s) was or were breached under the AHRC Act.
The Commission can investigate human rights complaints, undertake conciliation to attempt to resolve complaints, and report its findings and recommendations to the Commonwealth Attorney-General if human rights inconsistencies are identified.
Key actions
Australian Human Rights Commission
- Home | Australian Human Rights Commission
- National Information Service: Enquiries can be made by phone on 1300 656 419 (Option 2) or in writing, including by email. The phone line is open Monday to Friday between the hours of 10:00 AM and 4:00 PM AEST/AEDT.
Making a complaint
- Further information on the complaint process for breaches of human rights can be found here: Complaint Process: Breaches of Human Rights
- Complaint guides produced by the Commission are available here: Complaint Guides | Australian Human Rights Commission
- Examples of the Commission’s previous decisions about breaches of human rights are available here: Human Rights Reports | Australian Human Rights Commission
