Good new stories about the Victorian Charter of Human Rights

16/03/2009

How was a woman able to gain funding for medical treatment, a young family saved from eviction and why did a council reject proposed new laws that restricted people’s right to access public space?

Delegates at the Human Rights Conference, now underway in Melbourne, will hear good news stories about how the Victorian Charter of Human Rights is being used to improve the everyday lives of Victorians.

Also, thanks to the Charter, Victorians with autism are now entitled to disability assistance from the government. The President of the Autistic Family Support Association commented that she did not think that the policy change would have occurred without support from Charter-based arguments.

A 13 year-old-boy with Asperger Syndrome was ineligible to receive disability support services because a Victorian Government Department did not consider Asperger Syndrome and other Autism Spectrum Disorders to be a ‘disability’. The child’s mother applied to Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal for a review of the decision and advocated for an interpretation of ‘disability’ in light of the rights contained in the Charter, including the right to privacy, protection of families and children, and equality before the law.

Before the application proceeded to hearing, the Victorian Government decided to acknowledge Autism Spectrum Disorders (including Asperger Syndrome) as a disability under the Act and thereby entitle Victorians with autism to disability assistance. The Government committed to back this announcement by $2.75 million in additional funding.

“Cases like this demonstrate the value of human rights in making real improvement to the lives of Victorians”, says Emily Howie, Senior Lawyer at the Human Rights Law Resource Centre. “The good news is that the Charter is working as a tool to support common sense decision-making and to promote common values.”

“Many of these stories are, by their very nature, small scale one-off instances that do not evolve into legal cases and tend not to be caught in the headlines or in by official reports”, said Ms Howie. “They show the capacity of the Charter to support commonsense decision-making, to assist persons to gain access to vital services, to encourage constructive organisational change and to promote equality.”

Dr Helen Szoke, Chief Executive Officer of the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission believes that the Charter is doing its best work outside the courts.

“While many of us may not be conscious of the protection provided by the Charter, there are circumstances where we will most certainly appreciate having the Charter in place to protect and promote our rights.“

Emily Howie and Dr Helen Szoke are available for interview.

Media contact Janeen Lynch 0419 33 77 34