What is: Human Rights

What are human rights?

Human rights protect the dignity and worth of all human beings regardless of their background, appearance, beliefs, or any other characteristic.

The Act protects the following human rights, drawn from international human rights law:

• recognition and equality before the law *
• right to life *
• protection from torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment *
• freedom from forced work
• freedom of movement *
• freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief *
• freedom of expression *
• peaceful assembly and freedom of association *
• taking part in public life *
• property rights *
• privacy and reputation *
• protection of families and children *
• cultural rights—generally *
• cultural rights—Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples *
• right to liberty and security of person *
• humane treatment when deprived of liberty *
• fair hearing
• rights in criminal proceedings
• children in the criminal process
• right not to be tried or punished more than once
• retrospective criminal laws
• right to education *
• right to health services. *

* indicates the human rights most likely to be engaged in MNHHS setting.

What’s the purpose of the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld)?

The vision of the Act is for a modern, fair and responsive Queensland, in which the human rights of every person are protected when they interact with the police, public hospitals, public schools, and other government organisations. Under the Act, every public sector employee is obliged to think about human rights when making decisions and delivering services.

The stated objects of the Act are to:

• protect and promote human rights
• help build a culture in the Queensland public sector that respects and promotes human rights
• help promote a dialogue about the nature, meaning and scope of human rights.

The human rights protected under the Act aren’t absolute. This means that the rights must be balanced against the rights of others and public policy issues of significance. The Act gives guidance on how to balance individual rights with the rights of others and the broader community.

Why is this important and what’s my role?

You play a critical role in helping us achieve Metro North Health’s vision to become a great place to work. We need your help to build a culture that respects human rights, by protecting and promoting the values of freedom, respect, equality and dignity when we interact with each other and people in the community.

You need to think about human rights whenever you:

• make a decision at work
• take action at work
• recommend that a decision or action be taken.

For example, when briefing Ministers and senior leaders, you should brief them on how human rights have been considered and the impact the recommended action or decision will have on human rights.

When working with your team, make sure they understand:

• what human rights are
• how the Act applies to their work
• how to act and make decisions in a way that protects human rights
• how to identify and deal with human rights complaints.

Direct employees to resources on human rights and encourage them to do human rights training.

How do I consider human rights in work decisions?

In order to comply with the Act, consider the following questions when making decisions at work.

1. What human rights are affected by the decision?
2. Will human rights be limited by the decision?

• • An action or decision limits a human right if it stops a person from enjoying their rights or changes the way a person enjoys their rights.
  • If not, you don’t need to go through the rest of the steps.

3. Does the law let me limit human rights?

• • If there’s no law or regulation that says you can make this decision, you may not be able to limit human rights.

4. Can I show that there’s a good reason for the limitation? Can I show that the limitation is fair and reasonable?

• • What is the human right trying to protect?
  • Why do you need to limit the right?
  • What’s the purpose of this action, decision, or policy?
  • Is there a connection between the limitation and the purpose? Will what you’re doing actually achieve what you aim to do?
  • Can you achieve your purpose in a less restrictive way? Is there another option available?
  • Is there a fair balance between the reason for limiting the right and the importance of protecting the right?

5. Is the decision consistent with human rights law?

• • If you can show that your decision limits rights in a way that is fair and reasonable, then your decision is consistent with human rights law.

Keep a record of how you considered human rights when making a decision, so you can demonstrate that you took human rights into account if you need to.

Handling human rights complaints

When there’s a human rights complaint, you need to follow the Public Sector Directive 11/20 Individual Employee Grievances.

• If an employee believes their human rights have been breached, they should complain first to the facility/division involved, through their complaints process.
• If the person is not satisfied with the response after 45 business days, they can complain to the Queensland Human Rights Commission.
• If the person has lodged a claim to a court or tribunal, they can attach a human rights claim. They can’t take a human rights claim to a court or tribunal independently of another claim.

Useful links

• Human Rights Portal
• Queensland Human Rights Commission
• Guide: Nature and scope of the rights
• Guide: Human rights in decision making
• PSC Directive 11/20_Individual Employee Grievance

Training resources

• QHRC online training
• Human rights 101 video
• Written scenarios and animations