Editors --- "ACT and Victorian Human Rights Developments" [2006] AdminRw 24; (2006) 57 Admin Review 98

• ACT and Victorian human rights developments

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ACT and Victorian human rights developments

On 1 March 2006 the ACT Human Rights Office and the Community and Health Services Complaints Commission merged to form the Human Rights Commission. The new Commission will comprise a president, a disability and community services commissioner, a health services commissioner, and a human rights and discrimination commissioner. The Human Rights Commission Act 2005 (ACT) repeals the Community and Health Services Complaints Act 1993 (ACT) and makes amendments to the Discrimination Act 1991 (ACT) to provide a uniform system of complaint handling. It also amends the Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT), transferring some powers of the Human Rights Commissioner to the new Commission.

In December 2005 the Victorian Government announced it would introduce a charter of human rights and responsibilities, in keeping with the central recommendations of the Human Rights Consultation Committee, which was created to examine the need for human rights laws. The Committee’s report recommended the introduction of human rights legislation similar to the ACT’s Human Rights Act 2004. The finalised legislation will be introduced into the Victorian Parliament in 2006.

The full report is available on the Victorian Department of Justice website <http://www.justice.vic.gov.au/humanrights/>.