Practical Human Rights for Government Decision-Makers

The introduction of the Human Rights Act 2019 has fundamentally altered the way government entities make decisions in Queensland. All public entities must ensure they:

• properly consider human rights when making decisions; and
• ensure their policies, plans, procedures and decisions are compatible with human rights.

A failure to meet these obligations makes a decision unlawful.

But what does it practically mean to give proper consideration, and to make decisions compatible with human rights?

This half-day workshop will equip attendees with the practical skills and knowledge to fulfil their human rights obligations, conduct robust human rights impact assessments, and effectively manage the risks.

Who should attend

• This workshop is for anyone (not just lawyers) involved in developing legislation and policy for the government or making decisions that potentially affect the human rights recognised by the Human Rights Act.

What we will cover

• Analysis of the latest cases and learnings from the implementation of the Human Rights Act and likely future trends;
• A deep dive into the intended scope of the key rights relevant to the public sector; and
• How to apply the rights to real life situations, including carrying out a robust human rights impact assessment and proportionality analysis.

What you will learn

• We will cover the key takeaways from the recent cases which are that to reduce the risk of a successful human rights challenge, public entity decision-makers must:
  • be able to identify all relevant human rights that may be impacted by the decision; and
  • provide cogent and persuasive documentary evidence to demonstrate that any limitation on a relevant human right is reasonable and justifiable.