Human Rights Commission
Media Release - 26 August 2004

Tribunal not part of Human Rights Commission

The Human Rights Commission and the Human Rights Review Tribunal are completely separate entities.

There has been recent publicity about the Tribunal's decision to award Andrew MacMillan $1200 which arose from a breach of the Privacy Act, not the Human Rights Act. It has caused some public confusion about the relationship between the Tribunal and the Commission. The Commission has received a number of enquiries about this in the last week.

The Tribunal comprises a Chairperson and 2 panel members and performs judicial functions such as hearing cases and making decisions.

The Commission has no control over the Tribunal or any other court and nor should it have.

People who have complained to the Commission about unlawful discrimination can take cases to the Tribunal if the Commission has been unable to resolve their complaint. The Commission itself does not represent complainants in proceedings before the Tribunal, but they may be represented by the Office of Human Rights Proceedings which is an independent part of the Commission.

ENDS

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