HSC Legal Studies Human Rights core quiz quiz

1945

1948

1966

1976

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966

The Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948

The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court 1998

Treaties automatically become part of Australian domestic law the moment the executive ratifies them

Only the High Court of Australia has the power to ratify international treaties on behalf of the nation

International treaties can never be applied or referred to by Australian courts under any circumstances

The Commonwealth Parliament must pass implementing legislation to give a treaty domestic legal effect

Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (1992) 175 CLR 1

Wik Peoples v Queensland (1996) 187 CLR 1

Dietrich v The Queen (1992) 177 CLR 292

Lange v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1997) 189 CLR 520

The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth)

The Age Discrimination Act 2004 (Cth)

The Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth)

The Disability Discrimination Act 1992 (Cth)

Is a free-standing personal right that individuals can directly sue to enforce against other citizens

Was first articulated by the High Court in Mabo v Queensland (No 2) (1992) 175 CLR 1, in the very same judgment that recognised native title

Was repealed by the unsuccessful 2023 Voice referendum, removing it from the Constitution entirely

Is a limit on legislative power, derived from sections 7 and 24, articulated in Lange v Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1997)

The UN Human Rights Council

The International Court of Justice

The International Criminal Court

The Security Council

Carried nationally and in a majority of states, amending section 51 of the Constitution

Rejected nationally and in every state, leaving the Constitution unchanged

Postponed indefinitely by the Commonwealth and ultimately not held at all

Carried in New South Wales and Victoria only, but failed the double majority

The Human Rights Act 2004 (ACT)

The Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic)

The Australian Human Rights Commission Act 1986 (Cth)

The Constitution

Australia has long had a single comprehensive national bill of rights, firmly entrenched within its written federal Constitution and closely modelled on Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Human rights in Australia are protected exclusively by the High Court through its interpretation of express constitutional rights, with no statutory protection at all

Australia formally rejects international human rights law entirely and has refused to ratify the major UN human rights treaties and covenants

Australia is the only common-law liberal democracy without a national bill or charter of rights, relying on a patchwork of constitutional, statutory, common-law and institutional protections