Submission to the Queensland Human Rights Inquiry, April 2016

QMHC Submission to Human Rights Parliamentary Inquiry

The Commission’s submission A Human Rights Act for Queensland focused on the need to better protect the human rights of all Queenslanders, and particularly people living with mental illness and problematic alcohol and other drug use.

The Commission’s submission supported a Human Rights Act for Queensland that:

• better enables people to enforce their  human rights
• includes economic, social and cultural rights, such as adequate healthcare, education and housing
• applies to not only government agencies, but also organisations funded by Government to deliver services.

Cultural change

The submission recognised that legislation sets the ground work for protecting human rights, but more is needed to change cultures and entrenched views which result in discrimination, unconscious bias and stigma.

Educational resources

This requires investment in educational resources to support understanding of rights among individuals, parliamentarians, the legal sector and government agencies and to promote a human rights culture in Queensland.

Co-design

The Commission further recommended that people with lived experience are involved in the design of any human rights legislation. We advised that safe language guidelines and patient care protocols be applied in the drafting of the legislation and associated policy documentation to ensure appropriate terminology and safe, non-stigmatising wording is used.