Parallel Report to Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
3 February 2026
On 9 January 2026, the Law Council made a non-government report, known as a ‘parallel report,’ to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR). This report addressed themes raised in the Australian Government’s Sixth Periodic Report to the Committee, detailing Australia’s compliance with the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR).
The Law Council’s parallel report highlights current issues relating to rights under the ICESCR, including the ongoing need for a federal Human Rights Act; funding for legal assistance services; the human rights implications of climate change; housing and homelessness policies; business and human rights; rights protections for First Nations Australians; piecemeal reform of anti-discrimination laws; policy relating to asylum seekers, refugees and other migrants, and further issues identified by Royal Commissions of inquiry in recent years.
The Law Council thanks members of its National Human Rights Committee, its Business and Human Rights Committee and its Equal Opportunity Committee, as well as the Law Society of New South Wales and Law Society of South Australia, for their input into this report. We have been invited to brief the CESCR on its contents on 16 February 2026.
Last Updated on 04/02/2026
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