Human Rights Litigation in Australia is the first book to examine the theory and practice of promoting human rights through Australian courts. Although Australian lawyers rarely label their work as ‘strategic human rights litigation’, the approach is well known to those working for social justice. This form of lawyering is distinguished by its orientation toward promoting human rights and harnessing litigation’s potential to influence law, policy, public discourse, and broader advocacy campaigns.
This edited collection brings together contributions from leading Australian human rights experts. The first half of the book covers topics related to designing and running strategic litigation. The second half offers thematic chapters on areas such as First Nations rights, climate change, refugee protection and police accountability.
The book highlights both the opportunities and the limitations of pursuing systemic reform through the courts. It traces how litigation can amplify community campaigns, shift public narratives, and hold powerful actors to account—while also recognising the significant barriers posed by costs, delays, procedural hurdles, and political resistance.
By situating these contributions side by side, the book provides a shared framework for understanding, critiquing, and advancing strategic litigation in Australia. Taken together, these contributions offer both a record of what has been achieved and a resource for practitioners, advocates, scholars and students seeking to strengthen the role of litigation within broader campaigns for justice.
Foreword
Acknowledgments
About the Contributors
Chapter 1 An Introduction to Strategic Human Rights Litigation in Australia – Ebony Birchall
Chapter 2 In Conversation with Shane Hryhorec: A Litigant’s Perspective
Chapter 3 Rights without a Charter: Causes of Action in Australian Strategic Litigation – Ebony Birchall, Meg Lessing and Min Guo
Chapter 4 The ‘Situated’ Nature of Strategic Litigation: Between the Pillars of Media, Policy, Advocacy and Partnerships – Nicki Lees and Jacinta Lewin
Chapter 5 Justice Denied? Barriers to Public Interest Litigation in Australia – Maria Nawaz
Chapter 6 Power in Numbers: Class Actions and Strategic Litigation in Australia – Lauren Meath, Idil Mohamad and Andrew Paull
Chapter 7 Side by Side: Partnering with First Nations Communities in Strategic Lawyering – Craig Longman and Larissa Behrendt
Chapter 8 Climate Litigation as a Tool for Change: Australian Lessons in a Global Context – Paul J. Govind and Ebony Birchall
Chapter 9 Fighting for Refugee Rights in Courts, Parliaments and Beyond: The Need for a Different Approach to Identifying an Analysing Strategic Litigation – Kate Ogg
Chapter 10 Closing the Governance Gap? Business and Human Rights Litigation in Australia – Ebony Birchall, Oscar McLaren and David Birchall
Chapter 11 Pursuing Discrimination Claims: Progress and Persistent Challenges – Therese MacDermott and Gemma Leigh-Dodds
Chapter 12 Policing the Police: Strategic Lawyering for Accountability – Felicity Graham, Jeremy King and Samantha Lee with Isabella Jones
Chapter 13: Child Rights Strategic Litigation in Australia: Navigating Barriers, Pursuing Change – Joanna Mitchell
Artwork on cover by Gail Mabo (Australia b1965)
Piadram, Mer (Murray Island), Torres Strait region
Tagai 2020
bamboo, cotton, shellac and plastic
287 x 290 x 15cm
Art Gallery of New South Wales, purchased with funds provided by Vicki Olsson 2020
© Gail Mabo/Copyright Agency
Image © Art Gallery of New South Wales
100.2020
Read the foreword by Hugh de Kretser, President of the Australian Human Rights Commission
