Papers and submissions

RLC's submission is based on The Civil Society Report on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).

RLC and the Australian Human Rights Centre welcome the consolidation of federal human rights and discrimination laws into a single Act, with greater consistency and simplicity.

In RLC's view the exposure draft National Human Rights Action Plan mostly lists existing and proposed Commonwealth and Victorian programs, rather than a plan to strengthen Australian human rights protections in a systemic way.

RLC made a submission with the National Association of Community Legal Centres (NACLC) in response to the Attorney-General Department's Consolidation of Commonwealth Anti-Discrimination Laws Discussion Paper.

RLC has a priority access policy for ATSI clients. In 2010, we provided legal services to some 3000 individuals from Redfern and surrounding areas, approximately 200 of whom identified as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

The overarching recommendation of this submission was that the government reconsider its methodological approach to the baseline study.

While RLC does not generally represent people in court who have been charged with criminal matters, we have regular contact with people who are subject to bail conditions and are experiencing other consequences as a result.

Our submission argued that the standards are not meeting their aims and have not had a significant impact on access to education for students with disability.

This is the second submission of NACLC and other CLCs in relation to the consolidation of federal discrimination legislation.

The RLC opposes any increase in the sentencing jurisdiction of the Local Court.