JUST ANNOUNCED | The Australian Human Rights Institute’s Provocation Series returns to the Art Gallery of NSW in 2026. This year's panel will debate how we protect human rights and democracy in the age of tech titans. Tickets and speakers announced in June. Read more: mailchi.mp/unsw/provoca...

The Australian Human Rights Institute is among the 100+ signatories calling for stronger modern slavery laws today, three years since an independent review recommended an overhaul of Australia's Modern Slavery Act. Read the open letter: www.walkfree.org/news/2026/in...

A record funding boost for human rights research, the High Court's first climate case, the fallout from NSW's protest crackdown and much more in this month's Human Rights Defender. Read it here: mailchi.mp/unsw/human-r...

Institute Associate Dr Samara Hand writes for this month's Human Rights Defender on why NSW school suspension numbers are not just a discipline statistic, they are a human rights concern. Read more: www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/research/com...

EVENT | Two of Australia's foremost experts on protecting and defending the rights of whistleblowers, Kieran Pender and Gabriel Shipton, will take part in a discussion with Guardian Australia's Lenore Taylor on 16 June at UNSW Sydney. Register here: www.events.unsw.edu.au/event/whistl...

COMMENTARY | Maria Nawaz, Project Lead for the Institute's Australian Climate Accountability Project, writes for The Conversation on the High Court's first ever climate case and the potential implications for fossil fuel producers across the country: www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/research/com...

EXPLAINER | What has been the impact of the NSW Government’s approach to regulating “social cohesion”? Read more in our latest student blog: www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/students/blo...

How did Saudi Arabia's sportwashing era spectacularly implode? Australian Human Rights Institute director Professor @justinenolan.bsky.social gives an extensive interview to Nine's Wide World of Sports. www.nine.com.au/sport/liv-go...

Scientia Professor Louise Chappell chats to The Australian about her new book on the experiences of cancer patients and why being a "good" cancer patient can be a dangerous fantasy. www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/why...

"It would be a brave government, I think, to take on this matter on appeal." -Institute Associate and UNSW Law & Justice Professor Luke McNamara talks to ABC News about the NSW government's struck-down protest laws and whether taxpayers could be on the hook for damages www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04...

Exciting news - from mid June, I'll be serving as Co-Editor in Chief for the Australian Journal of Human Rights! Very excited to take on this new role in such a supportive and brilliant team of colleagues. @austhumanrights.bsky.social

In @journalhumanrights.bsky.social, Emma Graham examines why quality part-time work remains unattainable for many parents and the persistent barriers that law reform will need to address if it is to be effective. Available to read in open access: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

OUT NOW | Inside the emerging roadmap away from fossil fuels, how the law of naval warfare applies to the Strait of Hormuz, and the impact of "atrocity fatigue" on news audiences. Read this and much more in the latest Human Rights Defender: mailchi.mp/unsw/human-r...

LISTEN | News audiences are again being exposed to atrocities and human suffering on a large scale. Institute Associate Dr Ayesha Jehangir speaks with SBS about the impact news consumption has on audiences and how to stay informed without becoming distressed: www.sbs.com.au/news/podcast...

Research supported by funding from the Australian Human Rights Institute's seed funding scheme has found Australian children's data is at risk through approved school apps: www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/new...

For too long business and human rights debates focused on corporate harm without showing what responsible business looks like. Learn how our research is changing that by identifying and testing business practices that embed human rights into supply chains: www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/transforming...

A workshop co-hosted by the Institute's Australian Climate Accountability Project has heard how new legal rulings, diplomatic coalitions and policy processes are converging on a global transition away from fossil fuels — and what it means for #COP31. www.unsw.edu.au/news/2026/03...

Last week we celebrated five years of our Global Student Fellowship program. A record 24 UNSW students received a 2025 fellowship for a paid placement with a human rights organisation in locations such as Cambodia, Sri Lanka, and Timor-Leste. Learn more: www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/students/glo...

The current Australian Modern Slavery Act raises awareness in educating people on the problem, but falls short in following through and being effective, Australian Human Rights Institute director Professor @justinenolan.bsky.social said: www.fssustainability.com.au/modern-slave...

IN DEPTH | Following a lengthy court battle, the Supreme Court of Queensland delivered a landmark human rights decision this month that will shape how local councils and other public authorities approach homelessness enforcement. Read more: www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/research/com...

In this month's Human Rights Defender: The research driving practical change to advance gender equality, growing warnings about the lack of AI regulation in Australia and abroad + the human rights limits on government action against rough sleepers. Read this and much more: mailchi.mp/unsw/human-r...

What rights do Australians have to protest in public? Institute Associate and UNSW Law Professor Luke McNamara explains the legal grounds Australians have to freedom of expression, the legal obligations of police, and what kind of behaviour to expect at a protest: www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI2F...

ONLINE EVENT | NSW and Victoria have recently enacted laws which further restrict the right of Australians to protest. Institute Associate and UNSW Law & Justice Associate Professor Daniel Joyce will chair a panel of experts on the topic on March 23. Register: www.eventbrite.com.au/e/public-law...

The @journalhumanrights.bsky.social is inviting submissions for its special issue on 'The Right to Food and Food Security in Turbulent Times: Critical Perspectives from the Asia-Pacific Region'. Deadline: 15 April. Submissions details: bit.ly/AJHRsubmissi... More info, contact: [email protected]

LISTEN | Protests in Sydney descended into violence last week, raising questions around police brutality and the erosion of the right to protest. Institute Associate and UNSW Law & Justice Professor Luke McNamara joined ABC's The Law Report yesterday to discuss: www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

CLOSING THIS WEEK | There are just a few days left to get applications in for our 2026 seed funding round. Grants of $10,000–$20,000 can support UNSW academics with their interdisciplinary human rights research. Applications close 22 February: www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/about-us/ass...

OUT NOW | Human rights grants, gender equality at work, police violence + how to spot financial abuse: A massive first edition of the Human Rights Defender to kick off the year. Read it here: mailchi.mp/unsw/human-r...

"A case study in disturbing and unnecessary police violence” - UNSW Law & Justice Associate Professor Vicki Sentas and Institute Associate, Professor Luke McNamara, speak to @australia.theguardian.com about NSW Police violence at Monday's protest in Sydney: www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

OUT NOW | The third edition of the International Law of Human Rights, co-authored by Australian Human Rights Institute director Professor @justinenolan.bsky.social, has hit bookshelves, featuring new chapters on LGBTQIA+ rights and climate change. federationpress.com.au/product/inte...

On World Cancer Day, The Lancet's podcast speaks with former Australian Human Rights Institute director, Scientia Professor Louise Chappell, about receiving a cancer diagnosis, and the importance of including a patient-centred approach to cancer care: www.buzzsprout.com/882697/episo...

“Gendered violence directly affects women’s capacity to work, to stay healthy and to support their families. Recognising that in workplace policy is not optional, it’s foundational.” - Institute Associate Dr Yuvisthi Naidoo. www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/new...

"It's an impossible exercise to think that we can quarantine certain words without simultaneously eroding legitimate political expression" -Institute Associate and UNSW Law & Justice Professor Luke McNamara speaks to AAP. aapnews.aap.com.au/news/why-lon...

OPEN NOW | The Australian Human Rights Institute has opened its largest-ever round of human rights grants for UNSW research projects. With the support of funding partners, we've provided $350,000+ across 31 projects since 2021. Find out more and apply: www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/about-us/ass...

COMMENTARY | Institute Associate and UNSW Law & Justice Professor Luke McNamara unpacks some of the proposed changes within the Albanese government’s hate speech bill: www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/research/com...

It's going to be a big year ahead in human rights. Read about what the Australian Human Rights Institute has planned for 2026 in this message from our director, Professor @justinenolan.bsky.social: bit.ly/JN2026message

LISTEN | The ABC's World Today program speaks with Professor @justinenolan.bsky.social about the calls for a tougher crackdown on textile worker exploitation: www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

Institute Associate and UNSW Law & Justice Associate Professor Katharine Kemp unpacks the teen social media ban and looks at balancing the very real need to protect children with the potential for privacy breaches that should concern all Australians. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uOTY...

PODCAST | Nathan Kennedy and Gillian Moon discuss the Australian Human Rights Institute's 'State of Denial' report, and the ICJ's advisory opinion that all states have a binding international law duty to prevent significant harm to the earth's climate: hallandwilcox.com.au/news/austral...

Has Australia's human rights record gone backwards? Institute interns Jasmine Crittenden and Chloe Lee interview Australian Human Rights Commission President Hugh de Kretser about the Universal Periodic Review scheduled for Australia in 2026: www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/students/blo...

"Australia will have a central role to play over the next year in maintaining global momentum in shifting away from fossil fuels and accelerating the renewable rollout even faster." - Research Associate Wesley Morgan. theconversation.com/australia-ha...

Just over two weeks out from Australia's new age-related restrictions on social media, Institute Associate and UNSW Law & Justice Associate Professor Daniel Joyce looks at the complex balancing of human rights involved: www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/research/com...

STUDENT BLOG | While Australia ceded its bid to co-host #COP31 in 2026 to Türkiye, the need for a strengthened human rights protection framework has become more urgent than ever: www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/students/blo...

The final Human Rights Defender for 2025 is out now, with news on the winner of the Andrea Durbach Prize, COP30 and concerning new modern slavery numbers. Read it here: mailchi.mp/unsw/human-r... Subscribe here: bit.ly/HRDSubscribe

“You just couldn’t say the risk is low when you’ve got over 80 per cent of cotton coming from Xinjiang. That’s a high risk." -Professor @justinenolan.bsky.social speaks with The Daily Telegraph about the slavery risks from ultra cheap e-commerce platforms. www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nationa...

The number of people who've reported being victims of modern slavery activity in NSW has risen by 116% since last financial year. Australian Human Rights Institute director, Professor @justinenolan.bsky.social, chats to the ABC's World Today program about the figures: www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...

The Australian Journal of Human Rights (@journalhumanrights.bsky.social), Australia’s first peer-reviewed journal devoted exclusively to human rights, is seeking expressions of interest to fill positions on its Editorial Board. Find out more: www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/sites/defaul...

WATCH | The Australian Human Rights Institute recently launched its new 'Provocation Series' at the Art Gallery of NSW. You can now watch a full recording of the debate over whether the pursuit of diversity and inclusion is dead: www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/events/pursu...

NEW RESEARCH | Our latest report examines the role of Ethical Clothing Australia’s accreditation program, its alignment with emerging standards for responsible workplace practices, and its global counterparts involved in improving standards in the sector: www.humanrights.unsw.edu.au/research/cur...

This week, the Institute took part in a showcase of UNSW's efforts to drive change through the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, including our Global Student Fellowships and Professor @justinenolan.bsky.social's research into shaping ethical global supply chains: www.unsw.edu.au/newsroom/new...

LISTEN | The implied freedom of political communication has been at the centre of several recent high-profile court decisions. Institute Associates Luke McNamara and Daniel Joyce discuss the right to free speech in Australia with the ABC's Law Report: www.abc.net.au/listen/progr...