Can discrimination against same-sex couples interfere with the right to health?
Australia is a party to the following major international human rights treaties relevant to this Inquiry: • International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) • Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) • International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) • International Labour Organisation Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention 1958 (ILO 111) Australia has voluntarily agreed to comply with the provisions of all of these treaties. However, a treaty only becomes legally binding in Australia when it is directly incorporated by domestic legislation. A range of Australian laws have sought to incorporate aspects of the ICCPR, CRC, ILO 111 and ICESCR, but none of the treaties have been incorporated in their entirety. However, the Commonwealth Parliament has enacted the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986 (Cth) (HREOC Act), which empowers the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) to examine whether Australia is
