Australia, being rather an outlier, does not have a national Bill of Rights. The Australian Human Rights Commission (‘AHRC’) has recently sought to reinvigorate the issue, recommending the enactment of an Australian Human Rights Act. Its proposed model went before the Commonwealth Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights, as part of the Inquiry into Australia’s Human Rights Framework. This article considers the need and support for an Australian Human Rights Act, incorporating recent developments during the COVID-19 pandemic. It provides a detailed critique of the AHRC’s proposed model and elements for human rights protection. In doing so, the article draws upon the experiences of certain Australian state and territory jurisdictions with Bills of Rights. It concludes by strongly endorsing the AHRC’s proposed model, subject to some reservations (about a participation duty, equal access to justice duty and power to exempt certain public authorities) and suggested clarifications or enhancements.

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(2024) 47(2) UNSWLJ 355: https://doi.org/10.53637/EXTY3197