101 cases
of how Human Rights ACTS make our lives better
No matter who we are or where we are, our lives are better when we all treat each other with fairness and respect and when we can all enjoy our rights and freedoms. Human Rights Acts and Charters promote respect for human rights and give people power to take action if their rights are breached.
The 101 cases set out here highlight the benefits Human Rights Acts and Charters have brought to people in the ACT, Victoria and Queensland. These cases also highlight the need for a national Human Rights Act, as well the need for Acts or Charters in states and territories which do not yet have them.
We designed this resource to inspire people to use Human Rights Acts and Charters where they exist in Australia; and to join with others in calling for a national Human Rights Act and Charters in every state and territory.
Click here to add your name to the call for a Human Rights Act.
CASE STUDIES
Aboriginal children jailed in adult prison: Human Rights Act in action
Bendigo mosque and freedom of religion: Human Rights Act in action
Will Ingram and the right to equality: Human Rights Act in action
Queensland and the right to housing: Human Rights Act in action
The right to education for children seeking asylum: Human Rights Act in action
Victorian pandemic laws: Victorian Charter of Rights in action
101 Cases
Human Rights Acts and Charters Make Our Lives Better.
Here are 101 cases showing how
Case 3: Man with a disability uses human rights arguments to avoid eviction
Tenants Queensland used the Queensland Human Rights Act to help a man with mental health issues to avoid eviction.
Case 5: Person experiencing mental health issues avoids homelessness
A woman was at risk of becoming homeless following an eviction order being made against her by a tribunal.
Case 7: Parents with a disability use human rights arguments to keep their family together
The Queensland Benevolent Society, a charity which supports people with a disability, children, families, older Australians and carers, has used the Queensland Human Rights Act to advocate for their clients.
Case 9: Complaint leads to agreement to install escalators for accessibility
When escalators at a train station were replaced by steep, inaccessible stairs, one older resident of the community made a human rights complaint.
Case 10: Family in need of accessible social housing offered support after long delay
After an Aboriginal woman with a disability, and her three children, were forced to vacate their social housing, the woman lodged a complaint regarding the length of time taken to arrange modifications to ensure she could shower and access the kitchen safely.
Case 14: Court rules that a man with a cognitive disability must be provided with nutrition and hydration
ACT Health applied to the ACT Supreme Court for a declaration that it would be lawful for the hospital treating an elderly man with a long history of schizophrenia not to provide him with nutrition and hydration.
Case 17: Freedom of movement for people with a disability
The parents of a man with a disability complained that their son had been deliberately frightened and provoked by his carers.
Case 18: Better safeguards around a person’s capacity to consent to medical treatment
The ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal decided a person with a cognitive disability, who the Tribunal had previously found to lack capacity under guardianship law, could not automatically be assumed to lack capacity to consent to psychiatric treatment orders.
Case 22: Imprisonment for unpaid fines of man with a cognitive disability prevented
Zakaria Taha had an intellectual disability. He was issued with numerous fines for different minor offences including riding a bike without a helmet and taking public transport without a ticket.
Case 24: Man with mental illness able to continue managing his own money
Patrick had a long-term mental illness and had been an inpatient in a hospital for many years.
Case 25: Man with mental illness who is detained in a facility has restriction on calling his lawyers removed
A man who was an inpatient at a mental health facility had his phone calls limited by order of his authorised psychiatrist.
Case 32: Blind woman able to access audiobooks in prison
A woman became blind in prison. After losing her vision, she couldn’t read books from the prison library. At the time, the library did not have any working audiobooks, so her mother bought some for her.
Case 33: Man compensated for discriminatory ban from council buildings
Paul Slattery had multiple disabilities, including bipolar disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder and an acquired brain injury.
Case 35: Woman supported during investigation of injury incurred while in the care of disability service provider
Parents of a woman supported by a disability service provider noticed that their daughter, Shelly, had bruising around her chin.
Case 37: Insurance policy excluding claims for mental illness incompatible with right to equality
Will Ingram purchased travel insurance in 2011 for an overseas study trip planned for 2012. In early 2012, he was diagnosed with a depressive illness and cancelled the trip on medical advice.
Case 38: Tribunal refuses parents’ application for daughter with an intellectual disability to undergo permanent contraception
The parents of a 25-year-old woman with an intellectual disability applied to a tribunal for approval for their daughter to undergo permanent contraception.
Case 39: Right to equality and fair hearing for self-represented litigants with learning disabilities
Betty and Maria Matsoukatidou (mother and daughter, respectively) were charged by Yarra Ranges Council for failing to secure and demolish their home after an arson attack.
Case 40: Electroconvulsive treatment ordered against patients’ wishes a breach of human rights
Two people with mental illness were unwilling to undergo electroconvulsive treatment (ECT).
Case 42: Safeguards and accountability around decision to admit a man with cognitive disabilities to a locked residential facility
A 70 year-old man had Parkinson’s disease, a cognitive disability and mental illness.
Case 43: Better justice system responses to victim/survivors of crime who have a disability
For many years, community legal centres, victim/survivor advocates and the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission have called on the Victorian Government, Victoria Police and the Office of Prosecutions to improve
Case 50: Reducing restraint and seclusion in mental health services
The Department of Health reviewed procedures in mental health services in light of Charter requirements and made efforts to reduce the use of restraint and seclusion.
Case 51: Council protects the rights of people with disabilities
The Charter had a ‘discernible impact’ on the policies and practices of Boroondara City Council which undertook extensive planning to ensure that their pedestrian precinct was accessible for people with disabilities.
Case 53: Man with a disability protected from eviction
A Victorian Department attempted to evict a man who used a wheelchair from his home.
Case 55: Preventing the eviction of a person with an intellectual disability
Action for More Independence and Dignity in Accommodation (AMIDA), along with Tenants Union Victoria (TUV), used the Charter protect the rights of a person with an intellectual disability who had been given a notice to vacate his rooming house based upon his behaviour.
Case 56: Improving security and privacy at the home of a man with disabilities
A man with cerebral palsy and vision impairment was very concerned about security in the housing commission premises where he lived.
Case 57: Woman gains access to disability services
A woman with dual disability was not eligible to access services because neither of her disabilities, when considered separately, met the requirements of the relevant government departments.
Case 58: Protecting a man with a cognitive disability from financial abuse
A man with a disability was pressured by his sister and members of his church community group to move in with his sister and allow her access to his $60,000 savings.
Case 59: Single mother with a disability avoids having her daughter being removed from care
A single mother with cerebral palsy was at risk of having her daughter being removed from care by child protection authorities.
Case 60: Student with a disability avoids being expelled
A child with a learning disability was threatened with expulsion by his school due to some behavioural issues.
Case 61: Man with a physical disability allowed to continue living in family home
A man with physical disabilities and limited mobility continued to live in his family home after his mother had been admitted to an elderly care unit and placed under a financial administration order by a tribunal.
Case 62: Charter helps man with a disability receive services to help community integration
A man with a physical and mental disabilities living in a supported accommodation unit was not provided with appropriate services to which he was entitled.
Case 63: Charter helps man to access disability aids in prison
A man with a physical disability detained in a prison was frequently deprived of his aids when being moved from one part of the prison to another.
Case 65: Man with a disability allowed to privately access to his own mail
A man with a physical disability living in a shared supported accommodation unit objected to his mail being opened by the workers at the unit.
Case 66: Tenant’s freedom of religion protected in housing works dispute
A man with a physical disability living in public housing objected to work being carried out on his house on a holy day due to his religious beliefs.
Case 69: Young woman with cerebral palsy provided with disability support services
A young woman with cerebral palsy was left in her home, alone and unable to leave, while waiting for the government to determine whether or not she was eligible for disability support services.
Case 71: Tribunal matter reopened to protect victim of domestic violence
A tribunal matter regarding the payment of rent and repairs to a property was reopened despite falling outside of its limitation period.
Case 74: Guardianship revoked due to incompatibility of decisions with human rights
A woman with a cognitive disability contested the decision of her guardian to have her moved into a residential facility where no workers spoke her language, understood her cultural and religious beliefs or would prepare food in a way which was required by her religion.