Half a decade on
The Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) (the HRA) received assent and commenced 7 March 2019, with substantive provisions commencing 1 January 2020.
The intent of the HRA is now well known to protect 23 human rights, including:
- The right to recognition and equality before the law;
- The right to privacy; and
- The right to freedom from cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
The HRA mandates that public entities act compatibly with protected human rights and give ‘proper consideration’ to those rights in decision-making processes. Courts expect that consideration to occur in a ‘common’ or ‘garden variety’ fashion, for all persons working in the public sector, both senior and junior (applying Castles v Secretary to the Department of Justice [2010] VSC 310 at [185] per Emerton J).
Additionally, the HRA imposed requirements on the Queensland Legislative Assembly itself, that
generally, legislation to be passed must (save for exceptional circumstances) be compatible with
protected human rights. Much preparatory work was undertaken in the lead-up to the commencement of the HRA to ensure that public entities were properly prepared.
But how is it actually working in practice in the real world and how is Queensland tracking against the other ‘Charter’ jurisdictions (Victoria and the ACT) who we took guidance from in formulating the HRA?
That is something which the independent review of the HRA was mandated to consider under
section 95 of the HRA. This review, chaired by Professor Susan Harris Rimmer, was required to provide its report on the review by 20 September 2024, with the Attorney-General to table a copy of the report in the Legislative Assembly within 14 sitting days after receiving the report.
As of February 2025, it is understood that the report has been tabled, and remains under
consideration by the current State Government. Pending public release of that report, some indicative guidance can be taken from the annual reports which the Queensland Human Rights Commission (QHRC) issue – including most recently its Annual report on the operation of Queensland’s Human Rights Act 2019 – 2023-24.
At a high level, QHRC concluded that there has been incorporation of consideration of human rights into many of strategies, processes and procedures, with the development of training and guidelines for staff to assist their service delivery, and mandatory processes for the consideration of human rights in policy development. However,
the Commission considered that progress towards a general human rights culture was somewhat. Resourcing appeared to be a key limiter.
Key takeaways
Certainly, from our perspective, and a general consideration of recent jurisprudence, there has been a strong uptake and willingness to comply with the HRA and its intent. However, the precise nuances of its application in a Queensland specific context will sensibly continue to evolve.
View The Local Law publication here.
