Castan Centre Five Year Policy Plan

At a time of growing uncertainty and resurgent nationalism both here and abroad, the importance of a strong voice with an ambitious agenda to improve human rights is greater than ever. The Castan Centre has played an out sized role in shaping human rights law, making over 150 detailed policy reform proposals for government and international bodies, and helping to change dozens of laws and policies. Now, we have crafted a compelling vision for a world where human rights are respected and protected to allow people to live their lives with dignity and respect.

HOW WE MAKE AN IMPACT

We leverage our expertise like few other university centres: our twenty world-renowned Monash Law academics volunteer their time to appear before parliamentary inquiries, write policy papers, meet with government officials and appear in the media.

Our Policy Manager consults with our often time-poor academics and then authors much of our policy work to create lasting change.

We are moving from reactive to proactive: our growing policy unit enables us to be more proactive by identifying needs that governments may be neglecting and working to address them. Right now, we are:

  • Investigating how Victoria’s education system fails children with disability.
  • Mapping laws permitting excessive force in prisons and other “closed environments”.
  • Working to ensure that all Australian state and territory expunge convictions for consensual gay sex.

We work with leading policy makers and local communities: we have strong government relationships and excellent business, academic and civil society networks here and overseas. We know who is doing what and who to pick up the phone to.

For example, we work closely with Victoria’s Department of Education on our disability project and we train Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade staff.

We also work in local communities to better understand the effects of human rights law:

  • We mentor and work closely with Indigenous Monash students.
  • Our Indigenous prisoner mentoring club connects Indigenous prisoners with Indigenous university students.
  • Our academics conduct research in remote Indigenous Australia, among dispossessed landowners in Cambodia and with people combatting human trafficking in South East Asia.

We are the bridge between international law and local law: we are regularly invited to make submissions to UN bodies that are shaping international law, knowing that those laws eventually help to improve local laws. For instance, we are using the UN’s Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners to evaluate Australia’s various detention regimes, and our Human Rights Translated: A Business Reference Guide, is used by businesses around the world.

WHY DO WE NEED FUNDING?

Our policy program runs on the strength of a single Policy Manager employed one day per week.  We have the expertise, structure, passion and reputation to achieve great things but we need a major increase in funding. We receive strong in-kind support, financial oversight and governance from the University so that every cent of your gift goes towards achieving our vision. To achieve our goals, the Centre requires two full-time staff members, funding to retain current staff and support costs totalling approximately $295,000 per year on top of current funding.

OUR PRIORITY AREAS

Over the next five years, we will address the key areas detailed below. These areas have been chosen because they reflect both urgent priorities for society and the Centre’s academic strengths:
Aboriginal flag

Indigenous Rights

We will work for a fairer criminal justice system for Indigenous Australians through policy reform, our Indigenous Prison Homework Club which helps to prepare Indigenous prisoners for release, and our internship and mentoring programs for Indigenous students. We will continue to maintain our commitment to anti-discrimination and reconciliation by contributing to the push for Constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians.

chain linked fence up close

Closed Environments

We will work to strengthen laws for everyone whose freedom is restricted: asylum seekers in detention, children and adults in prisons, people in psychiatric wards and people in aged care or disability care who are not free to leave. We will ensure that the patchwork quilt of laws that vary from state to state and sector to sector are brought into alignment to protect everyone from unnecessary force.

Girl writing on blackboard

Refugees and Asylum Seekers

We will use parliamentary inquiries, direct engagement with the federal government and media work to highlight human rights abuses in our immigration system. We will work to close offshore detention centres, and lead policy efforts to better deal with migration flows and reduce danger for people seeking asylum.

Braille

Disbility

In the lead up to the 2018 Victorian election, we will deliver the state government a landmark report recommending extensive changes to ensure that children with disability receive a humane and effective education. We will then call upon governments around the country to make similar changes and extend our analysis to health, residential, guardianship and other sectors.

Business section of the newspaper

Business and Human Rights

We are global thought leaders on business and human rights, and we will use this influence to highlight the urgent need for a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights, which is a key UN recommendation for Australia.

rainbow wall

LGBTI Rights

We will combat discrimination and harassment, fight for marriage equality, and highlight issues specific to trans and intersex people, including the difficult issues surrounding medical care and legal documentation. Internationally, we will continue to be a voice for the decriminalisation of same-sex sexual conduct at forums such as the UN and with grassroots organisations, especially in our region.

security cameras

National Security

The 70-plus anti-terror laws enacted over the past 15 years have transformed criminal law in Australia. Why they have helped combat terrorism, many potentially violate human rights. We will explain the need to reform national security laws by engaging with the federal government and educating the Australian public about the unnecessary excesses of anti-terror laws.

parliament house

Australia's Lack of Human Rights Laws

Human rights laws protect the most vulnerable people, including people with disability, children, the elderly and homeless people. We will work to implement these vital laws in Australia, state by state and at the federal level as well.

Flags outside the UN in New York

Developing International Law

We will contribute to UN reports and resolutions that clarify and explain international law and practice. This work often creates norms that are then implemented by governments at the national level.