United front of more than 117 organisations demand inquiry into NSW Human Rights Act at Parliament House

February 12, 2026

Today, a powerhouse alliance of 117 peak legal, community, and faith bodies from the Human Rights Act for NSW Alliance will gather at NSW Parliament House to demand the state end its status as a “human rights outlier” and launch an urgent inquiry into a Human Rights Act.

The sold-out forum – hosted by BEING – Mental Health Consumers, Wayahead, and Mental Health Carers NSW – is the largest of its kind. It calls on the Minns Government to finally deliver on its election platform commitment to community consultation. Human Rights Act for NSW (HRA4NSW), insists that referring the current Human Rights Bill 2025 to a Parliamentary inquiry is the essential first step to preventing further tragedy.

The forum features an eminent lineup including Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Commissioner Rosemary Kayess, former Supreme Court Justice the Hon. Kevin Bell AO KC, and NSW Mental Health Commissioner Jennifer Black. The Minister for Mental Health, the Hon. Rose Jackson MLC, will address the forum as the government will meet later this week with ministers across Australia to decide on the future of the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement.

Kerry Weste, Chair of HRA4NSW and Vice President of Australian Lawyers for Human Rights said:

“Our call for an inquiry is not a radical one. Establishing an inquiry would ensure the Minns Government delivers on NSW Labor’s own promise, taken to the last election and endorsed again in 2024, to consult the community on laws to better protect human rights. Rights that are not defined in law are undefended in practice.”

Giancarlo de Vera, CEO of BEING – Mental Health Consumers, said:

“Dignity shouldn’t depend on which side of the state border you live. In the ACT, Victoria, and Queensland, mental health consumers already benefit from laws that protect their liberty, their security, and their right to lead their own care. It is time for NSW to embrace that same opportunity. We need a Human Rights Act to ensure every government portfolio – from housing to health – works together to protect the fundamental wellbeing of all citizens, rather than allowing them to fall through the cracks of a fragmented system.”

Sharon Grocott, CEO of Wayahead, said:

“Stigma and discrimination still harm people every day in NSW. A Human Rights Act would finally give people with mental health challenges the dignity and protection they deserve. NSW must step up now and make this reform a priority.

Jonathan Harms, CEO of Mental Health Carers NSW, said:

“It is often claimed that Australia respects human rights; yet for some reason NSW has been reluctant to enshrine these rights in state or national law. But rights that are not defined in law are undefended in practise. A Human Rights Act would be a game changer for families advocating for the rights of the person they care for and their own.”

The Case for a NSW Human Rights Act:

  • Addressing Systemic Gaps: The Bondi Inquest highlighted a catastrophic lack of coordination between states. A Human Rights Act creates a legal duty for authorities to coordinate care and housing, preventing high-risk individuals from being abandoned.

  • National Consistency: As ministers meet this week to discuss the National Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Agreement, NSW remains the only eastern seaboard state without human rights protections. The ACT (2004), Victoria (2006), and Queensland (2019) already have established legal frameworks.

  • Widespread Support: The Human Rights Act for NSW (HRA4NSW) is an alliance of 117 peak legal and community organisations, faith bodies and unions, representing tens of thousands of stakeholders across NSW, who are calling on the NSW Government to establish an inquiry into a Human Rights Act.

Established in 2015, the HRA4NSW Alliance is Co-Convened by Australian Lawyers for Human Rights and the New South Wales Council for Civil Liberties HRA4NSW released an open statement endorsed by more than 100 organisations and leading NSW figures including former NSW Director of Public Prosecutions, Adjunct Professor Nicholas Cowdery AO KC FAAL and Craig Foster AM.

The full statement and a list of the endorsing organisations and individuals is available here

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