AG Allowed Human Rights Commission to Oppose the Government on Indefinite Detention

Previous Coalition attorneys general had refused to permit the AHRC to intervene in contentious cases.

Australian Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus at the National Press Club in Canberra, Australia, on Oct. 12, 2022. AAP Image/Mick Tsikas

Federal Attorney General Mark Dreyfus gave the go-ahead for the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)—a statutory body which reports to Parliament—to lodge an amicus brief with the High Court opposing the government’s policy on indefinite detention.

The High Court in November ruled it illegal, leading to 148 people—many of whom were convicted of serious crimes—to be released into the community.