Australia’s human rights record under scrutiny

Australia's human rights are sliding backwards, with a new report submitted to the United Nations today from more than 150 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, human rights, legal, disability, refugee, LGBTIQA+ and climate organisations, including the Rights Resource Network SA.

From First Nations justice and gender-based violence, to offshore detention, climate inaction, and the segregation of people with disabilities - Australia is falling far short of meeting basic human rights standards. The Albanese Government act urgently – starting with an Australian Human Rights Act – to ensure everyone is treated with dignity, equality and respect.

Here's what the UPR NGO Coordinating Committee said in the Executive Summary to the Report:

"In early 2026, the Australian Government will appear before the United Nations Human Rights Council for its four-yearly review, the Universal Periodic Review (UPR). The UPR assesses Australia’s record and commitment to human rights. This Report provides a point-in-time snapshot and assessment of many pressing human rights issues from the perspective of Australian non-governmental organisations (NGOs). It represents the collective input of over 100 NGOs across Australia. Australia’s UPR comes at a time of deep global uncertainty, rising authoritarianism, and challenges to multilateralism and international human rights institutions.

Australia’s failure to consistently uphold human rights has played a role in undermining the relevance of human rights. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples continue to experience systemic injustice, including poorer health and life expectancy outcomes, rising incarceration rates, and consistent government failures to implement recommendations from royal commissions and coronial inquests.

Australia’s asylum policies remain punitive and unlawful. The UN has found Australia in breach of international law for arbitrary detention in both onshore and offshore facilities. Yet these practices continue. Likewise, Australia lacks comprehensive federal anti-discrimination protections, leaving groups like LGBTQIA+ people, people with disabilities, and culturally diverse communities exposed to harm and without adequate redress.

Recent decisions, such as the Queensland Government’s move to block access to gender affirming care for trans youth, display a worrying trend in the erosion of rights domestically. Australia lacks a federal Human Rights Act despite public support and a clear recommendation from Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights. This legislative gap weakens the enforceability of our international obligations and leaves human rights protections fragmented and inconsistent.

The upcoming UPR provides an opportunity for Australia to course correct, and this report provides a clear roadmap. Its over 140 recommendations include:

• Fully incorporating international human rights obligations into domestic law through a federal Human Rights Act.

• Raising the age of criminal responsibility to at least 14 years of age.

• Taking action to address systemic injustices facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through truth-telling, self-determined solutions to justice problems, and domestic implementation of UNDRIP.

• Ending cruel policies toward people seeking asylum.

• Implementing comprehensive anti-discrimination reform that provides consistent protections for everyone in Australia.

• Pursuing ambitious climate action.

Through meaningful engagement with the UPR, Australia has an opportunity to promote international human rights law and multilateralism, and to be a bulwark against democratic backsliding and the drift towards authoritarianism. Meaningful engagement means implementing measures supported by civil society through the previous three cycles, as well as those included in this Report."

Read the report: https://www.hrlc.org.au/reports/upr-2025-26/