On this page, we talk about your
Rights are rules about how people must treat you:
- fairly
- equally.
What rights are
Everyone has rights, no matter:
- where you come from
- who you are.
Rights makes sure people can:
- be free
- live good lives.
No one can take away your rights.
In Australia, everybody has the same rights as everyone else.
This includes people.
The letters LGBTIQA stand for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer or questioning and asexual.
The ‘+’ is for people who are part of the LGBTIQA+ community but do not talk about themselves using a word from this list.
It also includes people.
A gender diverse person is someone:
- who feels like they do not fit the idea of being a man or a woman
- whose gender given to them when they were born does not match the gender they are.
You can watch a video on YouTube about what rights are.
You can visit the YouTube website to find out more.
The history of people’s rights
In 1948, many countries agreed on a list of rights that everybody has.
They put these rights in a document called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
This list of rights has grown.
Now the list includes rights for people who experience
Discrimination is when people or services treat you unfairly because of a part of who you are.
And these countries agreed to create laws that make sure people:
- treat each other with respect
- work towards making a safer world.
You can find out more about these rights on the Youth for Human Rights website.
Rights for people with disability
In 2007, Australia signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD).
The CRPD is an agreement between different countries.
It explains how people must respect the rights of people with disability.
The CRPD says that people with disability should be able to:
- choose how they live
- be a part of their community
- get the support they need.
Every country that signed the CRPD has agreed to get rid of that people with disability face.
A barrier is something that stops you from doing something you:
- need to do
- want to do.
For example, barriers that stop people with disability from:
- moving around the community
- finding and using information.
There are other rights that the CRPD protects.
You can learn more on Australian Human Rights Commission website.
Some examples of rights that everyone has
Everyone has the right to have:
- good health
- enough food
- a safe place to live.
Everyone also has the right to:
- go to school
- get a job.
Everybody has the right to have a family.
And everyone has the right not to experience
Violence or abuse is when someone:
- hurts you
- scares you
- controls you.
Everybody has a right to keep their information safe and private.
Everybody has the right to:
- vote in elections
- have their own ideas about how people should run the country.
Everyone has the right to be:
- free
- treated the same as everybody else.
And everybody has the right to be treated the same way by the law.
Everybody has the right to get support from the government if they:
- are sick
- go to school
- are a carer.
Example story
We wrote a story to show an example of what your rights are.
The story we wrote is about a person called Ilya.
The story and the people in it are not real.
We made them up to explain what your rights are.
Ilya’s story
Ilya has an
An intellectual disability affects how you:
- learn new things
- solve problems
- communicate
- do things on your own.
And she lives in a home with other people with disability.
Ilya does not like where she lives because:
- it is noisy
- she feels unsafe.
She wants to move into an apartment with 2 friends instead.
Ilya has the right to choose:
- where she lives
- who she lives with.
She also has the right to work with an to get support to find a home.
An advocate is someone who can:
- support people with disability
- help people with disability have their say
- give information and advice.
Everyone must respect Ilya’s right to:
- be free
- make her own choices.
Australia promised to protect Ilya’s rights.
And the laws in Australia make sure everyone treats Ilya:
- fairly
- equally.
