Human Rights Day 2025: Standing Up for Fairness, Dignity, and Justice

This Human Rights Day we at Circle Green reaffirm our commitment to supporting a fairer Western Australia where everyone’s fundamental rights are recognised, respected, and protected. 

While there is always work to do, here are a few ways we have demonstrated our commitment to strengthening protections for human rights this year. 

WA for a Human Rights Act  

In July this year, Circle Green officially joined the Western Australia for a Human Rights Act (WA4HRA) Coalition. Since its launch in 2021, the WA4HRA Coalition has been calling for a WA Human Rights Act that ensures our shared values including fairness, respect, dignity and compassion are reflected in government decisions, laws, and services. These values shape essential areas of life such as culture, health, housing, and education. The campaign also supports human rights legislation at the federal level, which can be adopted by states for uniform protection of human rights in Australia.  

The ACT, Victoria, and Queensland have enacted their own human rights acts that translate these commitments into legislation, but WA has not yet done so.  

A Human Rights Act would: 

• clearly articulate our rights and freedoms as members of the public in Western Australia; 

• provide a strong mechanism for parliamentary scrutiny of legislation for compliance with fundamental human rights; 

• require public authorities to act consistently with human rights and consider human rights in decision-making processes; 

• require courts to interpret legislation consistently with human rights where possible to do so; and 

• help people of all ages and backgrounds understand and uphold their rights, including by providing accessible tools to challenge injustice when rights are violated. 

Campaign for a national Human Rights Act  

Circle Green also joined a dedicated national campaign for federal human rights legislation led by the Human Rights Law Centre. Australia is currently the only western-style democracy in the world without a Human Rights Act or a Constitutional Charter of Rights, despite having signed a number of UN conventions that commit to protecting and promoting all human rights. 

Highlighting human rights protections at the Tenancy Conference 2025 

Circle Green hosted a session focused on the WA4HRA campaign at the Tenancy Conference in October 2025. The session featured Chloe Wood from Aboriginal Legal Service, Ann-Margaret Walsh from Street Law Centre, and Lucia Savini from Shelter WA. Their discussion highlighted the growing momentum for human rights legislation and its potential to improve outcomes for people in Western Australia, and nationally. 

Together, we can help make a Human Rights Act a reality. 

Learn more about the WA4HRA campaign here. 

Learn more about the HRLC national campaign here.