Human rights
Our vision is for a modern, fair and responsive Queensland where we respect, protect and promote human rights.
The Human Rights Act 2019 (the Human Rights Act) protects fundamental human rights drawn from international human rights law.
This means fairer laws, policies and practices in government’s day-to-day dealings with the community.
Our obligations
Our department and our employees have an obligation under the Human Rights Act to make decisions and act compatibly with human rights in our work and in our interactions with people in Queensland.
We will:
- build a culture that respects and promotes human rights
- protect and promote human rights
- promote a dialogue about the nature, meaning and scope of human rights.
We will embed human rights understanding in our everyday business to place the human rights of individuals, especially the most vulnerable, at the forefront of our service delivery.
Human rights complaints
Our actions and decisions can impact the human rights of individuals—sometimes in a positive way and sometimes in a negative way.
The Human Rights Act requires us to consider human rights in all government decision making and action and only limit human rights in certain circumstances and after careful consideration.
If you believe we have breached your human rights, you can make a complaint to us. If you are not satisfied with our response after 45 business days, you may complain to the Queensland Human Rights Commission.
Information for public entities
Public entities, as defined under the Human Rights Act, are bodies such as government departments and agencies, public service employees, police officers and Ministers, as well as other organisations that perform functions of a public nature on behalf of the state.
The Human Rights Act requires public entities to act and make decisions in a way that is compatible with human rights.
There are 2 types of public entities:
- core public entities
- functional public entities
Core public entities are relatively easy to identify. Section 9 of the Human Rights Act lists core public entities and includes, for example, Queensland Government departments and public service employees, Ministers, local government and councillors, and the Queensland Police Service.
Functional public entities only fall within the definition of a public entity under the Human Rights Act when they are performing functions of a public nature. This reflects cases where public services are delivered by non-government organisations on behalf of the state. Section 10 of the Human Rights Act provides further guidance and a non-exhaustive list including emergency services, public health services, public transport and public housing.
Courts and tribunals are public entities only when they are acting in an administrative capacity (which may include when hiring staff, listing cases, adopting policies and procedures, during committal proceedings and issuing warrants). Courts and tribunals are not public entities when they are exercising judicial functions.
There are other special categories of public entities such as registered providers of supports or a registered provider under the National Disability Insurance Scheme Act 2013 (Cwlth), and interstate police officers are also public entities in certain circumstances.
Visit the Queensland Human Rights Commission website to find more information about public entities, including what constitutes a public entity under the Human Rights Act.
Information for private entities
Section 60 of the Human Rights Act also enables entities not otherwise captured by its definition of a public entity—private organisations—to choose to ‘opt-in’ to the obligations on public entities under the Act. This mechanism enables entities to commit publicly and voluntarily to acting compatibly with human rights, contributing to the dialogue of corporate social responsibility and helping to build a human rights culture in Queensland.
Learn more about this option by reading the Opt-in to the Human Rights Act 2019 fact sheet (PDF).