© Commonwealth of
Australia 2017
ISSN 2204-6356 (Print)
ISSN 2204-6364 (Online)
PO Box 6100
Parliament
House
Canberra ACT
2600
Phone: 02
6277 3823
Fax: 02 6277
5767
Email: human.rights@aph.gov.au
Website: http://www.aph.gov.au/joint_humanrights/
This
document was prepared by the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights and
printed by the Senate Printing Unit, Department of the Senate, Parliament
House, Canberra.
Membership of the committee
| Members |
| Mr Ian Goodenough MP, Chair |
Moore, Western Australia, LP |
| Mr Graham Perrett MP, Deputy Chair |
Moreton, Queensland, ALP |
| Mr Russell Broadbent MP |
McMillan, Victoria, LP |
| Senator Carol Brown |
Tasmania, ALP |
| Ms Madeleine King MP |
Brand, Western Australia, ALP |
| Mr Julian Leeser MP |
Berowra, New South Wales, LP |
| Senator Nick McKim |
Tasmania, AG |
| Senator Claire Moore |
Queensland, ALP |
| Senator James Paterson |
Victoria, LP |
| Senator Linda Reynolds CSC |
Western Australia, LP |
Secretariat
Ms Toni Dawes, Committee Secretary
Ms Zoe Hutchinson, Principal Research Officer
Ms Jessica Strout,
Principal Research Officer
Ms Mayuri Anupindi,
Principal Research Officer
Ms Eloise Menzies, Senior Research Officer
Mr David Hopkins, Legislative Research Officer
External legal adviser
Dr Aruna Sathanapally
Committee information
Under the Human Rights
(Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (the Act), the committee is required to
examine bills, Acts and legislative instruments for compatibility with human
rights, and report its findings to both Houses of the Parliament. The committee
may also inquire into and report on any human rights matters referred to it by
the Attorney-General.
The committee assesses
legislation against the human rights contained in the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR); as well as five other treaties relating to
particular groups and subject matter.[1]
Appendix 2 contains brief descriptions of the rights most commonly
arising in legislation examined by the committee.
The establishment of the committee builds on Parliament's
established tradition of legislative scrutiny. The committee's scrutiny of
legislation is undertaken as an assessment against Australia's international
human rights obligations, to enhance understanding of and respect for human rights
in Australia and ensure attention is given to human rights issues in legislative
and policy development.
Some human rights obligations are absolute under
international law. However, in relation to most human rights, prescribed
limitations on the enjoyment of a right may be justified under international
law if certain requirements are met. Accordingly, a focus of the committee's
reports is to determine whether any limitation of a human right identified in
proposed legislation is justifiable. A measure that limits a right must be prescribed
by law; be in pursuit of a legitimate objective; be rationally
connected to its stated objective; and be a proportionate way to
achieve that objective (the limitation criteria). These four criteria
provide the analytical framework for the committee.
A statement of compatibility for a measure limiting a
right must provide a detailed and evidence-based assessment of the
measure against the limitation criteria.
Where legislation raises human rights concerns, the
committee's usual approach is to seek a response from the legislation
proponent, or else draw the matter to the attention of the proponent on an
advice-only basis.
More information on the committee's analytical framework and
approach to human rights scrutiny of legislation is contained in Guidance Note
1 (see Appendix 4)
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