Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, performs well above the world averages across all categories of the Global State of Democracy (GSoD) framework. Over the last five years, it has experienced advances in Gender Equality. Australia ranks in the top 25 per cent of countries for Freedom of Expression, Access to Justice and Effective Parliament. However, these three areas have also seen significant declines over the past decade. Australia boasts the world’s thirteenth largest economy, based in mining, financial services and health and education. The country remains one of the largest development partners in the Pacific.
Before the arrival of European settlers in the 1600s, the continent had been solely inhabited by Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islanders (‘First Nations peoples’) for tens of thousands of years. British colonization began in 1788, and Australia transitioned into a federation of six states in the early 20th century. After a period of restrictive immigration policies for the first half of the twentieth century, exemplified by the Immigration Restriction Act and the 'White Australia Policy', the post-WWII era was marked by multiculturalism, which contributed to the development of a culturally diverse and economically prosperous society. Immigration continues to be at the forefront of policymaking, and Australia now has one of the largest immigrant populations in the world.. In recent years, an offshore processing system has been criticized for its use of indefinite and arbitrary detention. Australia is both economically intertwined with and engaged in regional competition with China, a tension that has consequences for Australia’s economy and its large ethnic Chinese population.
First Nations peoples have suffered significant oppression and discrimination throughout Australian history, and a campaign for adequate constitutional recognition of their rights and history has been ongoing for decades. There is an over-representation of First Nations peoples, and especially youth, in the criminal justice system while they are underrepresented in politics. In 2023, a referendum to enshrine a First Nations voice in the Constitution was unsuccessful. Australia has made notable progress in Gender Equality in health and education. However, gender-based violence and wage gaps remain pressing issues.
Australia’s universal healthcare system, ‘Medicare’, has been criticized for unequal access, especially for minorities and rural Australians. The country’s main political parties have fundamentally different policy approaches to addressing this inequity and on other issues impacting the elderly, childcare, education, housing and climate change. While the 2022 ‘climate election’ promised firm climate action, state environment and climate policy has in the past been hampered by Australia’s powerful coal mining industry.
While remaining well above the global average in Absence of Corruption, Australia is yet to regain its standing following declines beginning in 2012, which revealed weak regulatory structures in combatting foreign bribery and public sector corruption.
Rights, and specifically Social Group Equality, will be important to watch, given recent setbacks in recognizing the rights of First Nations people and immigrants. Australia’s contributions and vulnerability to climate change mean it will have to integrate comprehensive and realistic climate policies into government mandates, with failure to do so putting countervailing pressure on Social Group Equality. Freedom of the Press is vulnerable, due to the high concentration of media ownership in a sector dominated by News Corp and proposed media sector reforms. Lastly, corruption remains an area to watch over the next several years; there have been positive steps taken to establish a federal anti-corruption commission, and it will be critical to monitor developments with regard to the regulation of lobbying.
Last Updated: June 2024
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November 2024
Parliament passes new law banning social media for people under 16
On 28 November, Australia’s parliament approved the world’s first law banning social media for children aged 16 and under. The ban will take effect in a year, with a trial for enforcement methods starting in January. The Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Act 2024 seeks to protect young people from the harmful impacts of social media. The government plans to use age-verification technology to implement the restrictions, with tech companies fined up to AUD 50 million (USD 33 million) if they don’t prevent children from holding accounts. Australia’s communications minister Michelle Rowland indicated the ban would likely include Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, and X. The law was rushed through parliament with limited opportunity for debate and public consultation. Critics and digital rights experts have questioned the provisions for enforcement, as well as raised privacy, freedom of speech and social connection concerns for young people. It remains to be seen how the ban will be implemented and in consequence its impact on freedom of expression.
Sources: Reuters, BBC News, NPR, Australian Human Rights Commission, Amnesty International
Australian government passes expanded anti-migration laws
On 28 November, Australia’s parliament passed three migration laws that expand its offshore detention policies, enabling third-country resettlement of non-citizens without adhering to Refugee Convention safeguards. The bills consist of the Migration Amendment Bill 2024, the Migration Amendment (Prohibiting Items in Immigration Detention Facilities) Bill 2024 and the Migration (Removal and Other Measures) Bill 2024. The laws allow officials to pursue prison terms for those who resist deportation, including asylum seekers. The Australian government says the bills are in accordance with the country’s international non-refoulement obligations and will help the issue of non-citizens refusing to be resettled in New Zealand. Legal and rights experts have criticized the haste with which parliament passed the bills. Australian migration advocates note that the laws deliver a dangerous setback for refugees’ and asylum seekers' rights, imposing punitive and disproportionate punishment to those most vulnerable.
Sources: Human Rights Watch, Human Rights Law Centre, Asylum Seeker Resource Centre, ABC News, Law council of Australia, SBS News, The Guardian
May 2024
Military whistleblower jailed for leaking classified documents
On 14 May, former Australian army lawyer David McBride was sentenced to 5 years and 8 months in prison for leaking classified documents to journalists in 2017. The move follows a pre-trial ruling in November 2023 that blocked McBride’s use of a defence that his actions were in the public interest. The documents exposed details of war crimes committed by special forces in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2013. The documents informed the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s seven-part series ‘The Afghan Files,’ after which a subsequent investigation led by the Australian Defence Force found credible evidence that members of the Australian Special Air Service had committed war crimes between 2005-2013. Media experts have expressed serious concern that the case undermines press freedom in the interest of public journalism. Legal experts argue that McBride’s sentencing underscores the urgent need for whistleblower protection reform, with a spokesperson from Human Rights Law Centre stating that ‘this is a dark day for Australian democracy. The imprisonment of a whistleblower will have a grave chilling effect on potential truth-tellers.’ Transparency International has urged the government to enact comprehensive law reform and establish a whistleblower protection authority. McBride’s lawyers have said they would appeal the conviction.
Sources: Transparency International Australia, International Federation of Journalists, CNN, ABC News
February 2024
Key industrial relations reforms passed
On 12 February, parliament passed the Closing Loopholes (No. 2) Act, aimed at strengthening workers’ rights. The legislation marks a continuation of substantial employment reforms enacted in the preceding two years. Key provisions include providing protections for gig workers and contractors, revising enterprise bargaining practices, and fortifying measures against wage theft and underpayments. Noteworthy among the new provisions is the “right to disconnect,” affording workers protections from demands to work beyond their regular working hours. While some businesses and opposition lawmakers expressed concerns about the bill's particular impact on small enterprises and additional costs for consumers as well as enforcement, unions and labour rights groups have hailed the bill as an important step forward for worker rights.
Sources: SBS News, Reuters, Fair Work Ombudsman, Minter Ellison
December 2023
Government passes preventative detention laws
On 6 December, the Australian parliament passed preventative detention laws to deal with the fallout from the High Court ruling on 8 November that the country’s system of indefinite immigrant detention was unlawful, triggering the release of over 140 detainees. The new laws allow courts to re-detain former immigration detainees if they are judged to pose “an unacceptable risk of committing serious violent or sexual offence.” Rights advocates and legal experts have raised serious concerns regarding the discriminatory nature of the post-sentence scheme, noting that the Act suffers from flawed risk assessment and punitive conditions,” which only apply to non-citizens.
Sources: ABC, The Guardian, Law Council of Australia, Parliament of Australia, Human Rights Law Centre
Supreme Court in New South Wales partially overturns anti-protest laws
The New South Wales Supreme Court struck down parts of the state’s harsh anti-protest laws on 13 December, in a move welcomed by rights and environmentalist defenders. The legal challenge was mounted by the “two-knitting nannas” with the Environmental Defender’s Office as representatives. The ruling found that a law criminalizing protests that cause partial closures around ports and train stations is unconstitutional because it has a “chilling effect on political communication via protests and public assemblies.” While a partial yet significant win, rights advocates have called on the government to repeal the anti-protest laws still in place, including offences applied in circumstances where activities cause damage or the complete closure of facilities.
Sources: Human Rights Watch, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian
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Global ranking per category of democratic performance in 2023
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