A Charter of Rights for Australia

Australia does not have a bill or charter of rights, which means there is no comprehensive law that enshrines human rights in Australia – even though these laws are standard in the rest of the developed world. So what does this mean for the rights of Australian citizens?

In this fully revised fourth edition of A Charter of Rights for Australia, George Williams and Daniel Reynolds show that human rights are not adequately protected in Australia, contrary to what many of us think. Using some pressing examples, they demonstrate how the rights of people at the margins of our society are violated in often shocking ways.

Several states and territories have adopted their own charters of rights, or have a charter well underway. This book’s argument that the time has come to adopt a charter at the federal level is more urgent than ever.

About the Author

George Williams AO is the Dean, the Anthony Mason Professor, and a Scientia Professor at UNSW Law. He has written and edited 34 books, including Australian Constitutional Law and Theory, and Human Rights under the Australian Constitution. He has appeared as a barrister in the High Court in many cases over the past two decades, including on freedom of speech, freedom from racial discrimination and the rule of law. As chair of the Victorian Human Rights Consultation Committee in 2005 he helped bring about Australia's first State bill of rights, the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities.

George is a well-known media commentator on legal issues, and has been a columnist for The Australian, the Canberra Times and the Sydney Morning Herald, as well as an on-air analyst for ABC Television.

Daniel Reynolds is a lawyer at Herbert Smith Freehills, and in 2017 served as an Associate of the High Court of Australia. He is the author of an original book entitled Leading Cases in Australian Law (with Lyndon Goddard), and has also written book chapters, media pieces, and 13 law journal articles. In 2013, he won the AIAL National Essay Prize in Administrative Law for a paper on the interaction of administrative and constitutional law. Daniel has also worked for the Gilbert Tobin Centre of Public Law since 2014, researching in a variety of fields, including on human rights issues with George Williams.