Vote for Human Rights this election

LABOR:

Human rights are to be enjoyed by all. The Albanese Government is committed to protecting the human rights of all Australians. Under Labor, Australia was an original signatory to the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Labor defends and advances the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration, both at home and abroad. The Albanese Government notes that Australia’s international obligations have been incorporated into domestic law to the extent necessary to implement Australia’s international human rights obligations. The Albanese Government has no plans to introduce a federal Human Rights Act.

GREENS:

The Greens will legislate a National Human Rights Act based on the Parliament’s Human Rights Committee model to protect civil, political, environmental, and social rights such as the right to life, education, and a safe environment.

We will also quadruple funding for the Australian Human Rights Commission with an additional $186 million over the forward estimates, ensuring it can advocate for human rights across all areas of life. For more information, please see our full policy here: https://greens.org.au/portfolios/justice.

• Implementing a national youth justice framework to end the incarceration of Indigenous children.
• Recommending all states and territories raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility to at least 14.
• Investing in Indigenous-led justice reinvestment initiatives and culturally safe, community-driven solutions.

LABOR:

Australian state and territory governments have primary responsibility for child protection, justice and detention. The Albanese Government remains committed to improving youth justice outcomes, particularly for First Nations youth. The Albanese Government is working with state and territory governments on the justice targets under Closing the Gap including through the Standing Council of Attorneys-General.

Overwhelmingly, age of criminal responsibility reform is a matter for state and territory governments. The Albanese Government remains committed to reform that will enable communities to establish locally tailored initiatives that address the underlying causes of incarceration, including to reduce the contact of First Nations children with the justice system. This includes the establishment of our landmark National Justice Reinvestment Program.

The Albanese Government’s National Justice Reinvestment Program enables First Nations communities to establish locally tailored initiatives that address the underlying causes of incarceration, including to reduce the contact of First Nations children with the criminal justice system. The total investment for justice reinvestment includes $79 million to support up to 30 community-led initiatives in First Nations communities across Australia, with ongoing funding of $20 million per annum from 2026-27.

To date, 27 justice reinvestment initiatives have been funded across the country, and 12 have a specific focus on youth. Every initiative addresses the specific needs of their community, informed by local knowledge.

GREENS:

The Greens’ will implement all recommendations from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody by investing $100 million and partnering with First Nations communities, particularly families affected by deaths in custody.

We will seek to address the over-imprisonment of First Nations people by adopting the recommendations from the Australian Law Reform Commission’s Pathway to Justice report, including establishing a justice reinvestment coordinating body.

We will also continue to work with affected communities to implement the recommendations of the Royal Commission into the Detention and Protection of Children in the Northern Territory, ensuring better outcomes for children in detention.

We will also continue to push to increase the age of legal responsibility across the country from 10 to at least 14. For more information, please see our full policy here: https://greens.org.au/portfolios/justice

• Provide safe pathways for Palestinians fleeing Gaza, starting with those having family connections in Australia – for instance through the issuance of 449 visas and evacuation.
• Offer all Palestinians who have arrived in Australia since 7 October 2023 a temporary humanitarian visa and commit to transitioning these to permanent visas after three years if they cannot return safely to the Occupied Palestinian Territory – as has been provided for Ukrainians.
• Grant access to permanent visas to those impacted by the failed Fast Track Policy, ensuring they can rebuild their lives with dignity and peace of mind.

Beyond these priorities, Amnesty continues to call on the Government to:

• Expand the humanitarian program by increasing the annual intake to 30,000 places.
• Reform Australia’s private sponsorship programs (CSP and CRISP) by removing non-protection related criteria e.g. age and English language requirements, and increasing the number of places to 10,000 annually, in addition to the humanitarian intake.
• Close offshore detention centres and establish a plan to resettle refugees through new agreements with safe third countries.

LABOR:

Australia has a long and proud history of providing resettlement for refugees and others who are displaced as a result of conflict, persecution and human rights abuses.

By the end of this year, Australia will have successfully settled more than one million refugees and others in humanitarian need since the end of World War II, recognising the valuable contribution that refugees have provided, and continue to provide, to Australian society, culture and prosperity.

The Albanese Government is committed to supporting people from significantly affected areas of the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel who have arrived in Australia on temporary visas due to the Hamas-Israel conflict.

The Government has offered the same pathway to these individuals on a case by case basis as was offered to Ukrainians. This involves the grant of a Humanitarian Stay (Temporary) (subclass 449) visa to those in Australia who are unable to return home, followed by the grant of a three-year Temporary Humanitarian Concern (subclass 786) visa following the completion of the required checks, including meeting health, character and security criteria.

Individuals holding the Temporary Humanitarian Concern visa have access to Medicare, access to settlement support services, and the right to work and study.

The previous Government left thousands of people, who had been subject to the Fast Track process, in limbo for more than a decade. This was one aspect of the broken migration system the Albanese Government inherited.

In October 2024 the Albanese Labor Government abolished the Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA), ending the last remnant of the Fast Track assessment process. Any individual with an ongoing application for asylum who was before the IAA has been transferred to the Administration Review Tribunal, and individuals will have their matters reviewed in the same way as any other protection visa applicant.

The Albanese Labor Government has focused on providing people who engage Australia’s protection obligations a chance to continue their lives in Australia with certainty and security and has provided these individuals with a permanent pathway through the Resolution of Status visa.

The Government is working through the remaining members of the Fast Track cohort with the Department of Home Affairs. Not everyone is in an identical situation – some individuals may have new protection claims relating to their country of origin, while others may have compelling or compassionate circumstances that provide a basis for them to remain in Australia.

With more people displaced worldwide than ever before, the Albanese Labor Government is stepping up to play our part in the global resettlement effort in a responsible way.

The Albanese Labor Government increased the number of places in Australia’s humanitarian program from 13,750 to 20,000 places in 2023-24 and we have maintained this number of places for the 2024-25 program. In contrast, Peter Dutton and the Liberal Party have committed to cutting the humanitarian program back to 13,750 places if they are elected.

Additionally, more than 20,000 Resolution of Status visas have been issued to former Temporary Protection visa/Safe Haven Enterprise visa holders since the pathway opened in February 2023. People on TPVs/SHEVs arrived before Operation Sovereign Borders, and had been living in limbo in Australia for more than a decade.

We have also invested more than $160 million into our onshore protection visa processing system, which has seen new protection visa applications be processed approximately eight times faster than previously – providing certainty to those in need of Australia’s protection sooner while cracking down on those not seeking asylum, but seeking to exploit the system, who had blown out the processing time for those genuinely in need. This investment also boosted the availability of free legal assistance for protection visa applicants, providing greater support during the application process.

Recently, the Albanese Government announced that we will make the Community Refugee Integration Sponsorship Program (CRISP) a permanent feature of Australia’s overall humanitarian program. The current pilot program, due to conclude on 30 June 2026, has delivered positive settlement outcomes for refugee category visa holders and the Australian communities involved in welcoming them.

Under CRISP, refugee category visa holders receive settlement support directly from trained community groups, called Community Supporter Groups, who help participants to settle in Australia by providing a range of support for 12 months from their date of arrival in Australia. The permanent CRISP program is earmarked to support an initial 200 refugees in 2026-27, within the overall humanitarian program allocation cap, and has scope to grow if the demand is there.

The Albanese Labor Government remains completely committed to Operation Sovereign Borders (OSB), of which offshore regional processing is an essential part. Regional processing countries are responsible for determining how they manage people while their claims are being assessed, including whether they should be in detention. The Albanese Government believes as a nation we must not harm people seeking refuge, and is committed to upholding Australia’s obligations under the Refugee Convention 1951 and other international human rights treaties to which Australia is a party.

By maintaining secure borders, we can deliver a generous, orderly and compassionate humanitarian program while preventing people smuggling and loss of life at sea, and without compromising Operation Sovereign Borders.

GREENS:

The Greens will establish a new Urgent Humanitarian Response Visa category to respond fairly and quickly to urgent humanitarian crises. This visa will provide an assessment process designed to respond to crises and allow people access to social support, Medicare, work rights and study rights when they arrive in Australia. The visa will have a rolling renewal every three years as necessary and allows people to transition onto existing permanent visas. In the first instance, this visa will provide a safe pathway and permanent protection for Palestinians and will be able to expand to humanitarian crises as they arise.

The Greens will abolish TPV/SHEV and provide a pathway to permanency to all those subjected to the Fast Track process.

The Greens will increase the humanitarian intake to 50,000 a year. The Greens will also introduce a private refugee sponsorship program that is in addition to the humanitarian intake.

The Greens will end offshore detention and close Nauru as a regional processing country. All refugees who are still in Papua New Guinea (PNG) or Nauru would be brought to Australia.

All people subjected to offshore detention would be provided with the option of permanent settlement in Australia. For more information, please see our full policy here: https://greens.org.au/policies/immigration-and-refugees

• End all Israeli actions in Gaza amounting to genocide, including by ensuring as a first step that Israel duly implements all provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) since January 2024.
• Call for an end to Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territory, enforced through apartheid.
• Ensure Australia is not complicit in Israel’s atrocities in Gaza through the direct or indirect sale or transfer of weapons or weapon components.

LABOR:

Under the Albanese Labor Government, Australia has long been part of the international call for a ceasefire, the protection of civilians under international law, humanitarian access and the release of hostages.

We are engaging diplomatically as part of the international call for all parties to return to the ceasefire and hostage deal. We want to see a complete and permanent end to hostilities and a pathway towards a just and enduring peace. The Albanese Labor Government will continue working with the international community towards that goal.

Throughout this conflict, the Albanese Labor Government has been clear that all parties must abide by international humanitarian law. We have been clear and consistent in our respect for the independence of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court.

We continue to work with partners to press Israel to abide by its obligations, including to ensure the unhindered flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza. We have been clear with Israel that Palestinian civilians cannot pay the price of defeating Hamas.

We remain unequivocal in our condemnation of Hamas for its atrocities on 7 October and ongoing acts of terror. Australia has joined a large number of countries in sanctioning Hamas, Hizballah and others for their terrorism. Hamas must release all hostages immediately, unconditionally and with dignity.

As Albanese Labor Government ministers and officials have repeatedly made clear, Australia has not supplied weapons or ammunition to Israel since the conflict began and for at least the past five years.

The Albanese Labor Government is steadfast in its commitment to Palestinian self-determination and a two-state solution.

We have been firm and consistent that Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law and a significant obstacle to peace. We continue to press Israel to cease its settlement activity. The Albanese Labor Government has repeatedly called on Israel to cease its settlement activity. We have coordinated with other countries to sanction Israeli extremist settlers for their violence against Palestinians.

The Albanese Labor Government reversed the Morrison Liberal Government’s decision to recognise West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, reaffirming the longstanding position that Jerusalem is a final status issue to be resolved as part of peace negotiations and a two-state solution.

The Albanese Labor Government adopted the name of ‘Occupied Palestinian Territories’, consistent with the approach taken by key partners as well as the UN and the broader international community. We have voted in support of a two-state solution and expanded Palestinian rights to participate in UN forums.

Ultimately, to end the cycle of violence we need a two-state solution – a Palestinian state and the State of Israel, living side by side in peace and security within internationally recognised borders. Australia will continue working with the international community towards this goal.

GREENS:

The Greens acknowledge that Amnesty International, the United Nations, and Human Rights Watch have all found that the State of Israel’s war crimes in Gaza amount to genocide.

We must work towards a goal where both Palestinians and Israelis live in peace, security and equality, exercising self-determination as described by the United Nations Charter.

The genocide in Gaza has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and has displaced millions. For there to be peace there must be an end to the State of Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories and its ongoing genocide in Gaza.

The Australian Greens recognise that the State of Israel continues to deny the right of self-determination to Palestinians and continues to dispossess them of their land and rights. The Greens support freedom and statehood for the Palestinian people.

The Australian Greens continue to call for the release of all hostages. We also continue to call on the Australian government to do its part in upholding international law by calling for a permanent and unconditional ceasefire and an end to genocide, apartheid, and occupation; ending the two ways arms trade between Australia and the State of Israel; sanctioning members of the Israeli government directly involved in war crimes; having Australia formally intervene on behalf of South Africa at the International Court of Justice and the commitment to uphold International Criminal Court warrants.

For more information, please see our full policy here: https://greens.org.au/portfolios/foreign-affairs.

• Make human rights central to bilateral relationship, demanding Dr Yang Hengjun’s release and meaningful progress on Tibet, Xinjiang, and Hong Kong as part of stabilisation efforts.
• Build coalitions with democracies to coordinate diplomatic measures that hold the Chinese government accountable for its human rights violations including multilateral forums like the UN Human Rights Council.
• Take concrete measures to protect members of Hong Konger, Uyghur, Tibetan and Chinese diaspora communities in Australia from transnational repression by China. This includes strengthening laws against harassment, surveillance, and intimidation tactics used to silence activists, students, and dissidents.
• Mandate rigorous supply chain due diligence to prevent Australian companies from importing or profiting from goods produced through forced labour, particularly in industries such as textiles, solar panels, and electronics, where Uyghurs and Tibetans are systematically exploited.

LABOR:

The Albanese Government takes every opportunity to convey our concerns to China about the human rights situation in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong. Our resumption of dialogue with China has enabled us to consistently raise our deep concerns at the highest levels, as Prime Minister Albanese and Foreign Minister Wong have.

Unlike her predecessors, the Foreign Minister has regularly engaged with Hong Kong, Uyghur and Tibetan communities Australia, as well as the advocates from civil society organisations and across the parliament. We are committed to having their voices heard in bilateral and multilateral forums.

In October 2024, Australia led – for the first time – a joint statement at the Human Rights Council with 14 partners, drawing on the credible and objective findings of independent UN experts about the human rights situation in China.

Here at home, we are strengthening the modern slavery regime, appointing the first federal Anti-Slavery Commissioner and conducting outreach to business. We have committed to work on a model for written declarations of a region, location, industry, product, supplier or supply chain that is regarded as carrying a high modern slavery risk.

GREENS:

The Republic of China (sic) is Australia’s largest trading partner, and improved relations between the two countries will benefit our community, and maintain peace and stability in our region.

The Australian Greens believe Australia has a key role in maintaining peace in our region, including easing tensions between the United States and China. Additionally, the Greens have consistently called on the Australian Government to raise concerns with the Chinese Government about human rights abuses, and have committed to ending the importation of goods produced by forced labor, including goods from places like Xinjiang.

• Work with the international community to develop a coordinated, long-term justice
  strategy.
• Pursue accountability through universal jurisdiction and hybrid justice mechanisms.
• Call on all parties to the conflict to uphold international humanitarian law and engage with justice mechanisms.

LABOR:

Under the Albanese Government, Australia has worked with ASEAN and the international community to call for a peaceful and durable solution to the ongoing crisis in Myanmar.

Australia has been clear that the regime needs to change course, cease violence, release those arbitrarily detained, allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access and return Myanmar to the path of inclusive democracy.

The Albanese Government has imposed targeted sanctions in response to the regime’s ongoing repression of the people of Myanmar, escalating violence and the continuing deterioration of the political, humanitarian and security situation.

We have committed $370 million over three years for a new phase of assistance for the people of Myanmar and the deteriorating humanitarian crisis in the region. Our humanitarian assistance is delivered through partner organisations and does not directly benefit or give credibility to the military regime.

We maintain our strong support for the central role of ASEAN and the Five Point Consensus in international efforts to resolve the crisis with Myanmar, including the constructive efforts of the ASEAN Chair and UN Special Envoys.

We are a steadfast supporter of international efforts to pursue accountability, including the UN Independent Mechanism for Myanmar. We will continue to use every lever at our disposal to press the regime for the full cessation of violence, the release of those unjustly detained, unimpeded humanitarian access and compliance with international humanitarian law, and a return to the path of democracy.

GREENS:

The Australian Greens recognise that the people of Myanmar have been suffering for years under a brutal regime, one which entities of our government have maintained engagement with. The Australian Greens are the only Australian political party to recognise the National Unity Government of Myanmar as the representative and democratic government of the people of Myanmar.

The Greens have successfully pushed the Australian Government to place sanctions on members of Myanmar’s military junta, and will continue to push for strong diplomatic action in response to human rights abuses in Myanmar.

• Work with governments worldwide to establish a strong accountability mechanism to hold the Taliban responsible for human rights abuses.
• Use all available leverage to pressure the Taliban to uphold the rights of women and girls, end gender persecution, and restore women’s meaningful participation in social, political, and cultural life.

LABOR:

The Albanese Government has consistently called out the Taliban for its egregious treatment of women and girls, including at the UN Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly.

We will not allow the ongoing situation in Afghanistan to become a ‘new normal’. In September 2024, Australia joined Germany, Canada and the Netherlands to take unprecedented action under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), to hold Afghanistan to account under international law for the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls.

In February 2025, the Foreign Minister joined women foreign ministers calling out the ongoing and systematic violations of human rights in Afghanistan.

Australia has committed over $260 million in humanitarian and basic needs assistance to the people of Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power, with a focus of protecting women and girls. Most recently, in March 2025, we committed $5 million to support Afghan women and girls to access critical sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence and displacement services.

GREENS:

The Australian Greens are deeply troubled by the human rights situation in Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban. We will continue to push the Australian Government to place diplomatic pressure on the Taliban to uphold human rights, especially those of girls and women, and to ensure aid reaches the people of Afghanistan.

We acknowledge that the successive Australian governments, led by both major parties, share the decision-making responsibility for Australia’s involvement in the 20-year war in Afghanistan. In response to the recent inquiry into Australian war crimes in Afghanistan, the Greens are calling for further investigation and compensation, as well as legislation to ensure that Australian troops can only be deployed overseas after a vote of the Federal Parliament.

• Ensure that human rights underpin Australia’s bilateral and multilateral engagements, both in the region and globally. As an important regional player, Australia is well-placed to help create a more secure and stable region, where human rights are protected and respected, and to lead in the protection of some of the region’s most vulnerable populations.
• Protect the integrity of international frameworks, such as the UN Charter and Geneva Conventions, and hold oppressive regimes accountable to ensure justice for communities whose rights have been violated. Australia must leverage its unique influence and responsibilities to tackle these threats to human rights in the region.

LABOR:

Australia deals with the world as it is and seeks to shape it for the better. Our support for human rights and values is central to who we are and to what Australia does in the world.

Australia was an original signatory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Conventions, and for over 75 years we have been a leading proponent of their consistent and comprehensive implementation.

In 2022, the Albanese Government appointed Australia’s first Ambassador for Human Rights, to elevate Australia’s international profile and leadership on human rights internationally, and to bolster Australia’s efforts to strengthen and uphold the UN human rights architecture and international law. We are helping to safeguard human rights, including freedom of expression, by supporting civil society organisations in our region through a Civil Society Partnership Fund ($35 million from 2024-25 to 2027-28).

Australia is also leading international efforts to develop a new Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel to improve safety and security for aid workers as they deliver lifesaving humanitarian assistance in conflict zones.