victorian charter
Everyone benefits from human rights being placed at the heart of our laws.
The Victorian Charter is one of the three existing State and Territory human rights charters in Australia, playing an important role for upholding human rights. The Victorian Charter recognises 20 fundamental human rights primarily drawn from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and provides for these rights to be taken into account in Victorian law and policy. Subject to some limitations, the Victorian Charter makes it unlawful for public authorities to act incompatibly with the human rights in the Victorian Charter or fail to take these human rights into account when making a decision. It also requires that new laws be considered for their compatibility with the Victorian Charter and that existing laws be interpreted and applied consistently with human rights.
However, as Australia does not have a national Human Rights Act or Charter, the Victorian Charter is limited to the laws, policies and services of the Victorian Government and Victorian public authorities.
Learn about the difference the Victorian Charter of Human Rights has made, and how you can find out more about ensuring your rights are respected.
View more examples of how the Victorian Charter has benefited people across the community at https://humanrightsact.org.au/101-cases
Below are free resources about the Victorian Charter, how it works, and what to do when your rights under the Victorian Charter are breached.
Thank you to Victoria Law Foundation Community Legal Grants for the support.
Video of how the Victorian Charter improved the 2021 Victorian pandemic laws. Image of Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service CEO Nerita Waight.
the victorian charter in action
101 Cases website
This website tells some of the success stories of Victoria’s Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006, as well as the ACT’s Human Rights Act 2004, and Queensland’s Human Rights Act 2019. It has a search function that helps you find examples based on the right being exercised, and/or the people that benefited from that success.
using the victorian charter
Victorian Charter Advocacy Guides
These advocacy guides show how the Victorian Charter can help particular issues or groups of people. For example, there are guides for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ rights, rights of victims of crime, rights of people who are homeless, rights of people with disability, and protest rights.
Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission
The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission has resources explaining what is in the Victorian Charter and how it works.
Victorian Ombudsman Complaint Handling Casebook
The Victorian Ombudsman is empowered to investigate Victorian Charter breach complaints. In this report, the Victorian Ombudsman shows how they conciliate complaints.
Victorian Ombudsman Human Rights Report
The Victorian Ombudsman has compiled examples of its investigation of complaints of Victorian Charter breaches. This report also demonstrates how the Victorian Charter works and how the Victorian Ombudsman achieved positive outcomes with the support of the Charter.
Judicial College of Victoria Charter Bench Book
This free resource is designed to help the Victorian judiciary understand and use the Victorian Charter. It can also help advocates understand how the Victorian Charter works and how the Victorian judiciary applies it.
Victorian Charter Online Course
The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission provides a free online course on the Victorian Charter.
Making a Complaint
Here is the link to make a human rights complaint to the Victorian Ombudsman.
Legislative History of the Victorian Charter
This webpage, maintained by Melbourne Law School's Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies, contains links to the parliamentary records leading to the enactment of the Victorian Charter.
Charter of Human Rights & Responsibilities Act 2006
Here is the link to the full text of the Victorian Charter legislation as passed by the Victorian Parliament and amended since 2006.