On 24 July 2024 the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights tabled its Report 6 of 2024, which provides an analysis of the human rights compatibility of recently introduced bills and legislative instruments.
Veterans' Entitlements, Treatment and Support (Simplification and Harmonisation) Bill 2024
- The committee considers that prohibiting a person from engaging in certain conduct, including creating a disturbance near a place where the Veterans’ Review Board is sitting, risks disproportionately limiting the rights to freedom of expression and assembly, and recommends amendments to the bill to assist with proportionality.
Telecommunications (Interception and Access)(Criminal Law-Enforcement Agency - ACT Integrity Commission) Declaration 2024
- The committee considers that authorising the ACT Integrity Commission and its staff to access stored communications and telecommunications data, which includes both the contents of, and information about, communications, significantly risks impermissibly limiting the right to privacy, and recommends amending the declaration to assist with proportionality.
Migration (Code of Behaviour for Public Interest Criterion 4022) Instrument (LIN 24/031) 2024
- The committee considers that requiring certain visa holders to sign an enforceable code of behaviour, noting subsequent enforcement of the code may result in visa cancellation and subsequent immigration detention or reduction in social security benefits, significantly risks impermissibly limiting multiple human rights. The committee has recommended that: in the event the minister enforces the code that they consider the committee’s concerns, and human rights implications of the instrument; and the current review of the code give close consideration of its comments.