What are the fundamental rights and human rights Australians have?
The Australian Constitution does contain some rights. Freedom of religion is in there, for example (section 116) and freedom of ‘trade, commerce, and intercourse’ between the states (section 92). The High Court has also held that the Constitution contains an implied freedom of political communication. Documents like the ICCPR and the ICSCR are not binding on Australia. So the rights they contain are not really ‘rights’ here. But when Parliament enacts a law which contains some ambiguity, the courts will favour an interpretation that is consistent with our international obligations, if such an interpretation exists. Also, international agreements to which Australia is a party give rise to a ‘legitimate expectation’ that administrative decisions will be made consistently with those agreements (see Minister for Immigration v Teoh for the High Court’s discussion on this issue, accessible at AustLII: http://www
