Human rights are rights we all possess by virtue of being human. Human rights are universal (meaning we all possess them equally), inalienable (meaning no one can take them away), and indivisible (meaning human rights are interconnected and mutually reinforcing).

Modern human rights are traced to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966 and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966. The United National Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of 2007 is also of particular significance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

Many of these human rights have been recognised at the domestic level in the Human Rights Act 2004 in the Australian Capital Territory, the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 in Victoria, and the Human Rights Act 2019 in Queensland.

The Human Rights Law Association seeks to promote an understanding of these human rights, the instruments that protect them, and the discipline of human rights law more broadly.