Discription

Annotated Queensland Human Rights Act provides valuable, practitioner-focused guidance to identifying when and how the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) applies. International human rights have long been protected in the two leading United Nations Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as various other international declarations and covenants. Queensland has joined a growing number of Australian states and territories enacting international human rights through statutory charters of rights. Queensland’s Human Rights Act 2019 is the most recent statutory charter, following the ACT in 2004 and Victoria in 2006. It is premised on the “dialogue model” of rights protection. Under this model Parliament, the executive and the judiciary each have a role in the protection of individual human rights, which must be reconciled with the competing rights of others and the interests of the community, while with Parliament retains power to legislate incompatibly with human rights. The Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) protects twenty-three fundamental human rights, including two from the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, with Queensland being the first Australian jurisdiction to protect one of these - the right to health services. In this new work, commentary on each section of the Act is offered. It highlights cases in other jurisdictions that impact on the consideration of the Act and identifies the important differences between the Queensland legislation and ACT and Victorian equivalents. Kylie Evans is a member of the Queensland and Victorian Bars, and Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne. Dr Nicholas Petrie is also a member of both the Victorian and Queensland Bars. Together, they present a nuanced analysis of the Act, applying both academic rigour and advocacy experience to create an essential point of reference for all Queensland lawyers, public officers and legal decision makers. It is also provides important guidance for people who wish to challenge decisions or actions that have interfered with their human rights.