Human Rights Case Law Project

Published cases referring to the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld)

The UQ/Caxton Human Rights Case Law Project is an initiative of the UQ School of Law and Caxton Legal Centre Inc. The aim of this project is to ensure that practitioners, researchers, students and members of the public have easy access to all published cases that refer to the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld).

Case notes for all published decisions that mention the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) will be added to this page. Please be patient with us – we are a small team so the case notes might not appear immediately, but we will do our best to complete them as quickly as possible.

This project is run by Professor Tamara Walsh (UQ Pro Bono Centre) and Bridget Burton (Caxton Legal Centre).

Current team members are: Laura Rowswell (Student Leader), Liisa Kuru (Student Leader), Laura Hall, Kano Nawagawa, Imogen Ryan-Kerr, Emily Gracias, Sarah Millar, Ella North, Elize Atme, Diksha Arora, Ocean Desta-Gebru and Bethany Jones.

Many thanks to our founding members: Elizabeth Aisi, Linden Peacock and Tulli Seton.

Case notes are available by keyword below and in alphabetical order.

Case notes by keyword

Children and Families
Civil Procedure
Commercial
Criminal Law and Corrective Services
Cultural rights
Discrimination
Domestic Violence
Education, Training and Employment
Health, Mental Health and Guardianship
Planning and Environment
Political Freedoms
Privacy and Confidentiality
Public Law Considerations
Tenancy and Social Housing

TJS v Director General, Department of Justice and Attorney-General [2022] QCAT 214

The matter concerned an application for a review of the respondent’s decision to issue a negative notice in respect of TJS’s application for a blue card. The Tribunal did not consider human rights in any detail but observed:
TSG v Director-General, Department of Justice and Attorney-General [2021] QCAT 98

This case concerned an application for review of the respondent’s decision to issue a negative blue card notice after the applicant was convicted of theft, drug-related and traffic offences. The Tribunal found that the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) did not apply as the proceedings were commenced prior to the Act’s commencement. If the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) did apply, the Tribunal would have considered the applicant’s right to freedom of expression (section 21), right to take part in public life (section 23), cultural rights (section 27) and the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (section 28), right to a fair hearing (section 31); right to not be tried more than once (section 34), and right to education (section 36); as well as the competing right of every child to protection (section 26(2)).
TWE v Director-General, Department of Justice and Attorney-General [2021] QCAT 121

This case concerned an application for review of the respondent’s decision to issue a negative blue card notice to the applicant, TWE. In confirming the respondent’s decision to issue a negative notice, the Tribunal considered the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) and found that the ‘paramount consideration’ of the best interests of children justified any limitations imposed on TWE’s human rights.
VDG v Director-General, Department of Justice and Attorney-General [2020] QCAT 506

This case concerned an application for review of the respondent’s decision to issue a negative blue card notice after the applicant was convicted of filming a person’s private parts without consent. The Tribunal found that the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) did not apply as the proceedings were commenced prior to the commencement of the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld).
VSS v Director-General, Department of Justice and Attorney-General [2021] QCAT 96

This matter concerned an application for a review of a decision from the respondent that the applicant’s case was an exceptional case and that, therefore, the applicant’s positive notice should be cancelled. The applicant was studying to be nurse and had recent drug charges.
WDE v Director-General, Department of Justice and Attorney-General [2020] QCAT 301

This case concerned an application for administrative review of the respondent’s decision to issue a negative blue card notice after the applicant was convicted of a serious offence within the meaning of Schedule 2 of the Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000 (Qld).
WW v Director-General, Department of Justice and Attorney-General [2021] QCAT 7

This case concerned an application for review of the respondent’s decision to issue a negative blue card notice to the applicant, WW. In ordering that the respondent’s decision be set aside, the Tribunal considered the applicant’s right to a fair trial (section 31), the applicant’s right to not be tried or punished more than once (section 34), and the rights of children (section 26(2)) under the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld).
YM v Director-General, Department of Justice and Attorney-General [2021] QCAT 224

This application relates to a review of a decision from the Department of Justice and Attorney-General to cancel the applicant’s positive notice and blue card and issue a negative notice. The Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) is discussed in relation to the applicant’s right to privacy and reputation against the competing right to protection of families and children, and the reasonable limitation of the applicant’s rights under section 13.

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WDE v Director-General, Department of Justice and Attorney-General [2020] QCAT 301

This case concerned an application for administrative review of the respondent’s decision to issue a negative blue card notice after the applicant was convicted of a serious offence within the meaning of Schedule 2 of the Working with Children (Risk Management and Screening) Act 2000 (Qld).
Whitson v State of Queensland (Department of Education) [2023] QIRC 202

The case concerned an appeal of an internal review decision in circumstances where the appellant was absent from their workplace due to illness and/or injury for five years. In the internal review, the decision-maker addressed the appellant’s human rights and acknowledged that the requirement to keep the contents of a specific letter confidential would limit the right to freedom of expression (section 21) pursuant to the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld), which included the freedom to impart information of all kinds. The decision-maker considered that such a limitation was reasonable and demonstrably justifiable in accordance with the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld). The Tribunal agreed and noted that, to the extent required to conduct his appeal, the applicant had been able to discuss the matters subject of the grievance and the decision: [115].
William Peter Hulbert v Queensland Racing Integrity Commission [2022] QCAT 130

The case concerned a finding by the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission that the applicant had engaged in misconduct. The Tribunal determined that the limitations on the applicant’s human rights were reasonable and demonstrably justifiable.
WW v Director-General, Department of Justice and Attorney-General [2021] QCAT 7

This case concerned an application for review of the respondent’s decision to issue a negative blue card notice to the applicant, WW. In ordering that the respondent’s decision be set aside, the Tribunal considered the applicant’s right to a fair trial (section 31), the applicant’s right to not be tried or punished more than once (section 34), and the rights of children (section 26(2)) under the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld).
ZB v Director-General, Department of Justice and Attorney-General [2021] QCAT 82

This case concerned an application for review of the respondent’s decision to issue a negative blue card notice to the applicant, ZB. The Tribunal found that the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) did not apply to the proceedings, as they were commenced before the legislation came into effect. However, the Tribunal noted that if the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) did apply, its decision would potentially impact ZB’s right to freedom of expression (section 21), right to take part in public life (section 23), right to a fair hearing (section 31), and right not to be tried or punished more than once (section 34), as well as the rights of children (section 26(2)).
Zhao v State of Queensland (Queensland Health) [2022] QIRC 185

This case concerned an appeal by the applicant against the respondent’s decision not to permanently appoint the applicant within Queensland Health. The applicant filed an appeal with the Industrial Registry. The Industrial Relations Commission noted that, in making the decision, particular attention was paid to Directive 09/20 (fixed term temporary employment). The Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) is considered under 4.5 of the Directive. There was no substantial discussion of human rights.

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Young v Dawson (No. 2) [2022] QCAT 48

The applicant was a police officer who was charged with four disciplinary allegations and found guilty by the respondent. The Tribunal noted that it was required under the Human Rights Act 2019 (Qld) to have regard to the applicant’s human rights, and found that the applicant’s right to freedom of expression (section 21) and right to not have his reputation unlawfully attacked (section 25(b)) were potentially limited. The Tribunal was satisfied that limitations on these rights were consistent with the proper purpose of upholding public confidence in the police service and ensuring police discipline.

Annual report

2020/21 Annual Report for the Human Rights Case Law Project (PDF, 123.7 KB)

Contact

Please contact our group with any enquiries at humanrights@uq.edu.au.

Disclaimer

These case notes are intended to provide summarised general information only. They do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on as such. If the subject matter of any case note relates to a transaction or matter of particular concern, you should seek your own independent formal legal advice from an admitted legal practitioner. Please note, UQ does not offer legal services to the public.

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