Protecting us all: 2012 report on the operation of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Page 6

4 Protecting us all: 2012 report on the operation of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities

Reporting on the Charter

The Commission is required to report annually to
the Victorian Attorney-General on the operation of
the Charter. This is the Commission's sixth annual
report.

The Charter requires the Commission's report
to include materials on the Charter's interaction
with other laws, declarations of inconsistent
interpretation and any override declarations.

To produce the report, the Commission consulted
with state government departments, Victoria Police,
local councils and a range of statutory authorities
about the steps they have taken over the past year
to comply with the Charter. This report draws on
their responses, as well as experiences reported
to the Commission by public authorities about their
activities during 2012.

The Commission reports on the operation of the
Charter for the calendar year 1 January 2012 to 31
December 2012. Accordingly, in this report we refer
to government departments as they were structured
in 2012. There have been a number of changes to
the structure of government departments in 2013.
The name of the departments as at the time of
printing are set out below.

2012 Department

Department

Department of
Sustainability and
Environment

Department of
Environment and Primary
Industries

Department of Business
and Innovation

Department of State
Development, Business
and Innovation

Department of Planning
and Community
Development

Department of Transport,
Planning and Local
Infrastructure

Department of Primary
Industries

Department of
Environment and Primary
Industries

Department of
Transport

Department of Transport,
Planning and Local
Infrastructure

The Commission also monitors human rights
through the parliamentary process and examines
significant Charter issues raised in the courts and
tribunals.

This report continues to track the impact of the
Charter through improved service delivery by
government and its agencies, through better law
making, and, when necessary, through the courts
and tribunals.

The report reflects on all the main areas of the
Charter's operation: the way that public authorities
are acting compatibly with human rights; the way
that government is making laws consistently with
human rights; and the way that the courts are
interpreting laws compatibly with human rights.

Two themes were specifically explored with
government in 2012: how human rights concerns
inform risk management in government; and how
government is working to support and recognise
Indigenous cultural rights.

The Commission has also prepared a separate
report detailing the work of local councils, this is
available at

humanrightscommission.vic.gov.au/

charterreports.

About the Charter

Human rights are the basic entitlements that
belong to every one of us, regardless of our
background, where we live, what we look like,
what we think or what we believe.

Respect for human rights ensures that all of us, no
matter what our income, education levels, colour,
gender or age are better able to lead decent,
productive and fulfilling lives.

When the Victorian Parliament passed the Charter
of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006
(the Charter), it reaffirmed the importance of
building understanding and respect for human
rights across the community.