An end to the patchwork quilt? The guarded potential of the PJCHR’s inquiry into Australia’s human rights framework

Australia’s Human Rights Framework is over a decade old, and the patchwork quilt of protections is fraying at the seams, unable to deliver the human rights protection needed. Yet, the Commonwealth Attorney-General’s referral of an Inquiry into Australia’s Human Rights Framework to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights (PJCHR) offers an opportunity for ambitious reform. This commentary provides an overview of the work of the ongoing Inquiry into Australia’s Human Rights Framework to date and an analysis of the guarded potential for ambitious human rights reform through the long-overdue enactment of a Federal Human Rights Act.