Queensland’s Human Rights Act 2019, which came into effect on 1 January 2020, aims to protect and promote human rights, and to help build a culture in the Queensland public sector that respects and promotes human rights.

QCOSS is committed to supporting the community sector with the skills, practice and tools needed to deliver human rights-respecting services, which will deliver improved outcomes for children, young people, people with disability, First Nations Peoples and women throughout Queensland.

Are you interested in human rights?

Our quarterly newsletter delivers the latest human rights related news, resources and learning opportunities straight to your inbox.

Human rights in action

Our Human Rights in Action event series is tailor made to improve the capacity of the Queensland social service sector to understand how they can use the Act in their work – whether it be in advocacy, service delivery or service design.

Our past Human Rights in Action webinars explore laws of consent and excuse of mistake of fact, coercive control, Child Protection Act changes, cultural rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, restrictive practices reform, supported decision making, and many many more.

Catch up on our Human Rights in Action webinar series

Upcoming webinars

Human Rights in Action: Defending the rights of children in watchhouses

5 October 2023

Are you concerned about the Queensland Government’s decision to override the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) to house vulnerable children in watchhouses?

Human Rights in Action: Understanding parents’ rights in the child protection system

28 November 2023

The rights of parents and families are limited within Queensland’s child protection system.

Blogs

Conversation with Larissa Baldwin, GetUp CEO

This month, I caught up with proud Widjabul Wia-bul woman, Larissa Baldwin-Roberts, who among many other community commitments is the CEO of GetUp! and Director of Research for Passing the Message Stick—a First Nations-led research project designed to shift public narrative in support of First Nations justice and self-determination.

If the Human Rights Act can be overridden, how effective is it?

Recently the application of the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) was overridden in the development of new legislative amendments. The legislative changes, among other things, will see children charged with a criminal offence for breaching bail conditions.

Systemic advocacy and influencing government on the things that matter

Advocating for human rights can often seem a daunting task, particularly when we look at systemic advocacy. How can you influence government on the matters that affect your service and your clients? One way to do this is through writing submissions.

Human rights, housing and homelessness project

During 2021, QCOSS partnered with the Department of Treaty, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships, Communities and the Arts (DTATSIPCA) and the housing and homelessness sector to highlight our commitment to human rights. The project aimed to:

build understanding of the Act
increase confidence to work compatibly with the Act
support our sectors to use the Act for person-centred service delivery.

QCOSS delivered a range of engagement activities to support the housing and homelessness sector to act compatibly with the Act and increase human rights literacy.

Find out more about the HRHH project

Project resources

Informed by the work of the project, we’ve developed a suite of handy resources for you, available now on our Community Door platform! From introductory information about the Act, to a self-service training workbook, you will find resources for staff new to community services, as well as resources for the seasoned professional.

Check out the range of guides covering proper consideration, human rights complaints, advocacy and Governance, as well as practical tools and a case study library. Make your workplace a human rights-aligned organisation by using these resources to discuss human rights with your colleagues.

Access the resources