Live Last read · last published · next check
Compared to other states and territories which have enacted Human Rights Acts, human rights are seriously exposed to abuse in NSW. The absence of human rights protections means that our state’s residents are falling through the cracks, and this has a real human cost on people’s day to day lives. Emerging overlapping crises have further exposed the limitations of current human rights protections.…
NSWCCL and Liberty Victoria advance four core propositions in our submission to the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. . First, antisemitism is one form of racism and religious intolerance experienced by minority groups in Australia and must be addressed. However, it should not be treated in isolation or elevated above other damaging and pervasive forms of racism and religious…
The Minns Government’s 2026-27 NSW State Budget fails to adequately fund Legal Aid NSW and free legal services, pricing vulnerable citizens out of the justice system. Today’s budget confirms that both State and Federal Labor Governments have chosen to leave some of the state’s most vulnerable without access to justice. The state budget failure further entrenches the underfunding of organisations…
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) has announced in a Joint Statement alongside Australia's Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Ms Jillian Segal AO that the health practitioner regulator has adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism alongside the Special Envoy's handbook to guide its regulatory work and to ‘ensure a…
A coalition of legal, community and civil society organisations today published an Open Letter calling on the NSW Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Police, and Commissioner of Police to immediately drop all criminal charges against people who protested the visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog on 9 February 2026. The “drop the charges” campaign is led by the Civil Liberties Defence Centre…
The right to protest has emerged as the single most submitted issue by Labor branches and affiliated unions ahead of the upcoming NSW Labor Annual Conference in July 2026. A total of 56 motions have been passed by party branches and trade unions across NSW calling for the repeal of anti-protest laws and stronger protections for the right to protest. Concerns regarding these laws are shared broadly…
The NSW Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL) is deeply concerned at the immediate threat to the rights and safety of children and families in the family court system, following a funding crisis forced upon Legal Aid NSW by the latest Federal Budget. The federal government has cut funding to Legal Aid NSW in real terms by failing to increase legal funding to match the increases in family law…
The NSW Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL) has called on the Senate to reject the ASIO Amendment Bill (No. 2) 2025, warning that the legislation will create a permanent gap in our civil liberties by removing sunset clauses on extraordinary post-9/11 questioning and detention powers. The Bill, which passed the lower house and is currently before the Senate, would permanently enshrine powers…
The NSW Council for Civil Liberties (NSWCCL) celebrates the NSW Court of Appeal’s decision to strike down the Public Assembly Restriction Declaration (PARD) powers. This ruling confirms that the Minns Labor Government’s rushed, draconian laws were unconstitutional. For the past several months, the NSW Government and NSW Police have knowingly wielded unconstitutional powers to harass and silence…
The NSWCCL condemns the Coalition’s unveiled immigration policy as a dangerous pivot towards MAGA-style populism and a return to short sighted, small minded, and racist migration policy akin to that of our shameful ‘White Australia Policy” past. The NSWCCL views the extreme vetting of social media for tourists, making subscription to vague “Australian values” a binding visa condition, and the…
