Communication and human rights within speech pathology

On 1 January 2020, the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) (the Act) will commence. It will bind all persons, including the State and to a lesser extent the Commonwealth. It took us 70 years after the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights to legislate in Queensland. We join the ACT and Victoria as the third Australian jurisdiction to protect human rights. The Universal Declaration was born out of the atrocities of the World Wars and was the first truly global human rights document. It is a common standard of achievements and aspirations for all peoples and all nations. It set out the fundamental human rights to be universally protected. The Queensland Act draws on the Universal Declaration and other instruments for its content. It begins by noting that ‘Human rights are essential in a democratic and inclusive society that respects the rule of law.’ The Act cautions that human rights should be limited only after careful consideration, and only where justifiable in a free and democratic society based on human dignity, equality, freedom and the rule of law. Section 3 sets out three main objects, which are like strategic goals: