Queensland’s historic Human Rights Act will commence from 1 January 2020.
The Act is intended to protect and respect the freedom, equality and dignity of every person in Queensland.
The Act is also a vehicle to help deliver better services and support for all Queenslanders, especially for those experiencing vulnerabilities in our society.
It is important that we all understand the obligations the Act places both on Queensland Government departments and organisations that are delivering services on behalf of the Queensland Government – which under the Act are all defined as public entities.
When the Act commences, public entities will need to consider human rights as part of their decision-making processes. This applies equally to direct service delivery, to writing laws and policies that affect people in the community, plus decisions that impact employees.
Public entities also need to have systems that can address human rights complaints that arise.
While the Act is something new for public entities to implement, most organisations will be well placed for any adjustments because they have already a solid rights-based approach to decision‑making, and/or they have quality standards in place such as the Human Services Quality Framework (HSQF).
Amendments to strengthen the human rights focus in the HSQF are effective from 1 January, and will be communicated to participating organisations shortly.
Queensland Government departments, the Queensland Human Rights Commission, and Peak bodies are committed to and are working closely and cooperatively to ensure those who work with Queenslanders who experience vulnerabilities understand their obligations and are ready for the commencement of the Act.
It’s important to be ready and there are a range of ways you can get involved with human rights straight away, including:
- resources on the Queensland Human Rights Commission website, including information for public entities and training programs plus videos from a recent speaker series
- whole-of-government human rights resources on www.forgov.qld.gov.au/humanrights
- material from Community Legal Centres Queensland including a recent webinar
Human rights is a big concept but it begins with each of us in our everyday work decisions and actions.
It is important to get involved and engaged with Queensland human rights journey. Together we can build a human rights culture and create a stronger and fairer Queensland for all people.
