Rights protected in the ACT Human Rights Act
The human rights listed below are protected by the ACT Human Rights Act. This means
- that all ACT government agencies and anyone doing government work must consider your human rights before making a decision that affects you or your family
- ACT government agencies and their contractors must act consistently with human rights.
Most human rights are not absolute however and are subject to certain limits. Sometimes the human rights of one person can conflict with the human rights of another person. Sometimes human rights may be limited if there are justifiable reasons for doing so, those limits are set by law, and there’s no other less restrictive way to obtain a legitimate purpose.
Rights protected by the ACT Human Rights Act 2004 include:
- Freedom of movement (s 13)
- Freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief (s 14)
- Peaceful assembly and freedom of association (s 15)
- Freedom of expression (s 16)
- Freedom from forced work (s 26)
- Rights to recognition, equality and non-discrimination (s 8)
- Right to life (s 9)
- Protection from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (s 10(1))
- Protection from experimentation and treatment without consent (s 10(2)) (This information is being updated.)
- Protection of the family (s 11(1))
- Privacy and reputation (s 12)
- Taking part in public life (s 17)
- Liberty and security of person (s 18) (This information is being updated.)
- Treatment of people who are deprived of their liberty (s 19)
- Minorities (s 27(1)) (This information is being updated.)
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples (s 27(2))
- Children generally (s 11(2))
- Children in the criminal process (s 20)
- Fair and public hearing (s 21)
- Rights in criminal proceedings (s 22)
- Compensation for wrongful conviction (s 23) (This information is being updated.)
- Not to be tried or punished more than once (s 24)
- Retrospective criminal laws (s 25)
- Education (s 27A)
- Right to work and other work-related rights (s 27B)
- Right to a healthy environment (s 27C)
Information about rights protected by other laws in the ACT can also be found at: