Australia

Australia

Right	Section	Contents
Freedom of Association	History	The right to association is mentioned in the ICCPR article 22. Australia ratified this treaty in 1980. In the Australian constitution there is no free-standing right to association. References: Australian Law Reform Commission, "Traditional Rights and Freedoms - Encroachments by Commonwealth Laws", ALRC, Sydney (2014), ch. 4: https://www.alrc.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/ip46_ch_4._freedom_of_association.pdf Australian Human Rights Commission, "Freedom of Association: https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/freedom-association
Freedom of Expression	History	According to the Australian Human Rights Commission: "The Australian Constitution does not explicitly protect freedom of expression. However, the High Court has held that an implied freedom of political communication exists as an indispensable part of the system of representative and responsible government created by the Constitution. It operates as a freedom from government restraint, rather than a right conferred directly on individuals." Furthermore, the Australian Human Rights Commission sees freedom of expression as extant in common law, and described a presumption in favor of preservation of such rights, absent explicit claims by Parliament to the contrary: "A well-established principle of statutory interpretation in Australian courts is that Parliament is presumed not to have intended to limit fundamental rights, unless it indicates this intention in clear terms. This includes freedom of expression." References: “Freedom of Information, Opinion and Expression.” The Australian Human Rights Commission. Accessed September 14, 2022. https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/freedom-information-opinion-and-expression.
Freedom of Religion	History	In accordance with English Common Law, Australia’s Constitution does not clearly guarantee freedom of religion. However, Article 116 of the document orders the “Commonwealth not to legislate in respect of religion.” Additionally, multiple Australian states have adopted laws and constitutions protecting the right. References: “The Australian Constitution.” Parliament of Australia. Accessed July 19, 2023. https://www.aph.gov.au/constitution “2021 Report on International Religious Freedom: Australia.” U.S. Department of State. Accessed July 19, 2023. https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-report-on-international-religious-freedom/australia/#:~:text=In%20Queensland%2C%20Victoria%2C%20and%20the,the%20grounds%20of%20religious%20belief.
Freedom of the Press	History	Australia has no formal protection of press freedom in its constitution (Australian Human Rights Commission). Australia’s High Court has ruled that an “implied freedom of political communication exists as an indispensable part of the system of representative government created by the Constitution” in Nationwide News Pty Ltd v Wills (1992), Australian Capital Television Pty Ltd v the Commonwealth (1992), and Unions NSW v New South Wales (2013). References: “Freedom of Information, Opinion and Expression.” The Australian Human Rights Commission: https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/freedom-information-opinion-and-expression
Privacy Rights	History	Australia ratified the ICCPR in 1980, a treaty that includes privacy rights. According to the Australian Human Rights Commission: "The right to privacy under the ICCPR includes a right to private life (including intimate behaviour between consenting adults), as confirmed for example by the UN Human Rights Committee in Toonen v Australia." Though there is no federal right to privacy, some regions of Australia have extended regional protections, such as the ACT Human Rights Act of 2004. References: Australian Human Rights Commission: https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/rights-and-freedoms/how-are-human-rights-protected-australian-law ACT Human Rights Commission: https://www.hrc.act.gov.au/humanrights/rights-protected-in-the-act/right-to-privacy-and-reputation
Voting Rights and Suffrage	History	Differing groups in Australia have come to enjoy the right to vote in varying periods in the country's history. According to the Museum of Australian Democracy: "At the colony or state level, women won voting rights over a period of two decades. The first colony to grant women the vote was South Australia in 1893, while the last was Victoria in 1908. Women have been able to vote in federal elections since 1903, due to the Franchise Act of 1902." According to the National Museum of Australia, "From the first federal electoral Act in 1902 to 1965, when the last state changed its law, tens of thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were subject to regulations which prohibited them from voting at federal and state elections. It wasn’t until 1984 that Indigenous people were finally treated like other voters and required to enrol and vote at elections." References: "Indigenous Australians’ right to vote": https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/indigenous-australians-right-to-vote Museum of Australian Democracy, "Elections and voting in Australia": http://static.moadoph.gov.au/ophgovau/media/images/apmc/docs/62-Elections.pdf?ref=hir.harvard.edu