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Human Rights - Charting the Charter
Victoria’s Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) (the Charter) has kept the state’s lawyers busy fighting for the rights of their clients.
Since January this year, human rights issues arising under the Charter can be raised in courts and tribunals. The decisions and actions of “public authorities” are also subject to the Charter and can potentially have a far-reaching impact on Victorian society.
The Charter sets outs more than 20 rights under the principles of freedom, respect, equality and dignity. They include the right to vote, freedom of expression and religion, the right to a fair trial and a right to privacy.
Victorian government departments and other “public authorities”, such as local councils and the Victoria Police, are now required to take human rights into consideration when making any laws or policies, providing any service, or taking any action. Sub-s 38(1) of the Act states “It is unlawful for a public authority to act in a way that is incompatible with a human right or, in making a decision, to fail to give proper consideration to a relevant human right”.
A tenant in community housing recently used the Charter to successfully challenge an eviction notice. The notice, which did not contain any reasons for the eviction, required the tenant, who was a pregnant single mother of two young children, to vacate her home within 120 days. The PILCH Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic (HPLC), which took the case to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), argued that the landlord was subject to the Charter. The landlord was a registered housing association that provides community housing to low-income Victorians on behalf of a local council with the assistance of considerable public funding and therefore came within the definition of “public authority” under the Charter. Appearing before VCAT, the HPLC submitted that the landlord’s actions amounted to an eviction into homelessness and were incompatible with the tenant’s and her children’s rights to privacy, family, the home and to life as defined by the Charter.
Under the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic) (RTA), a landlord can serve a 120-day Notice to Vacate without providing reasons. However, landlords are now required to interpret their rights under the RTA in a way that is compatible with the Charter.
The HPLC filed substantial written submissions and sought an urgent injunction preventing the eviction. The landlord subsequently withdrew the notice, resulting in the family being able to stay in their home.
The Human Rights Law Resource Centre describes the case as “a great example of how the Charter can be used to ensure that legislation and powers are interpreted and applied compatibly with rights so as to address disadvantage, ensure accountability and promote human dignity”.
More information
From the LIV Bookshop
An Annotated Guide to the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities. By Pound & Evans. $95.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is not intended to be a complete statement of the law relating to the issues raised. Accordingly, no person should rely on this information without first obtaining specific advice from Sam Marash of our office. | 
