Key Point
- The Charter will aim to provide protections for civil and political rights, primarily derived from the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966.
In recent times, certain states have considered implementing a bill or charter of rights to provide further protections of human rights in conjunction with already existing legislation. For example, the Tasmanian government has recently requested the Tasmania Law Reform Institute to conduct an inquiry into whether such a bill or charter should be implemented in Tasmania. Similarly, discussions and debates are also occurring in New South Wales.
Moving beyond the discussion and debate, Victoria has now implemented a Charter of Human Rights with the enactment of the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic). The Charter received assent on 25 July 2006 and becomes operative on 1 January 2007.
