rights set out in the Charter and the Convention
of the Rights of the Child in its report, Connecting
Services: Learning from child death inquiries
when the co-existing parental characteristics of
family violence, substance misuse and mental
illness place children at risk. The Commissioner
observed that adopting a child's rights
perspective is important to its work and "[w]hile
the Charter is an important part of this approach,
the Convention on the Rights of the Child more
fully articulates the rights of children, including
the rights of children to be safe, to be protected
from abuse and harm, to access health services
and education and to participate in decisions
which are important to them".
Charter
act compatibility with human rights. Where a
public authority uses third parties, such as
contractors, to perform public functions on its
behalf, the public authority should ensure that
these functions are carried out in a manner that
is consistent with the Charter.
that projects undertaken by third parties are
designed and implemented in ways that protect
and promote human rights. This may occur in
the tendering or procurement stage of a project
or by setting guidelines for the work that is to be
performed.
the scope of the Victorian Health Experience
Measurement Instrument, which provides
information to the Department about the
experiences of patients across Victoria. The tender
issued by the Department requires, among other
things, that the successful bidder provide the
questionnaire in 16 languages to facilitate greater
community participation in the feedback process.
compliance requirements in contracts and
funding agreements as a method of supporting
contracted or funded agencies to comply with
the Charter. In 2012, 55 per cent of local councils
included reference to human rights or the Charter
in their procurement policies.
its guidance to service providers regarding
complaints handling. The Good Practice
Guide: Developing an effective person-centred
complaints management culture and system
assists disability services providers to ensure
that their complaints processes recognise and
respect Charter rights.
employees about their legal obligations and
the application of the Charter through training
and education programs. Employees who are
required to prepare statements of compatibility
to accompany draft legislation, or who may have
particular functions that engage human rights,
such as school principals and police officers,
also receive specific training about their human
rights obligations. For example, Victoria Police
reports that the subject of human rights is a
fundamental consideration in the development
of all new programs provided by its People
Development Command and Human Resources
Department. While human rights may not feature
as a stand-alone subject, it is included in various
components of the programs and features in
discussions on ethical decision making, conflict
awareness and personal branding.
authorities with information about human rights
and the Charter, including by providing "train the
trainer" sessions to equip public authorities with
the skills to support their staff.
of authorities to comply with their Charter
responsibilities. For example, an audit by Victoria
Police found that approximately one in five staff
members from its People Development Command
and Human Resources Department had received
training on their obligations regarding human
rights compliance. Under the 2012-2015 Equity
and Diversity Action Plan, all staff within the
People Development Command and Human
Resource Department are expected to complete
human rights training by June 2015.
authorities are providing information to staff
about the application of the Charter through
websites, circulars, and step-by-step guides.
Some government departments and local
councils encourage staff awareness of Charter
issues by appointing "human rights champions"
or by holding events that encourage greater
understanding of human rights. A number of
councils have also established human rights
working groups that advocate for human rights
compliance across the full range of council
operations. Each of these approaches helps
promote the Charter as an integral part of the
work of public authorities.
observed that:
and ensures areas of DPC are able to learn from