Our history
The Queensland Human Rights Commission was formerly the Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland. We were initially established as the ADCQ under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991, and became the Queensland Human Rights Commission on 1 July 2019.
Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland
The Commission was established under the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991. The Act’s main provisions commenced on 30 June 1992.
For the first five years of the Act, the functions of the Commission were performed by the federal Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, under a cooperative arrangement that was provided for in the Act. Offices were established in Brisbane, Rockhampton and Cairns during this time.
The Commission has operated as an independent statutory authority since 1996, and remains so despite the change of name and function under the Human Rights Act from 1 July 2019.
Timeline: 25 years of the Anti-Discrimination Act
This timeline was developed in 2016, as part of the 25th anniversary of the Act. It gives details about significant milestones in the Act’s history, and marks the contributions of litigants, advocates, and administrators.
Items in the timeline are colour-coded: events are blue, legislation is green, cases are maroon, and people are orange.
Video: Building a case to Act
This video was also created as part of the 25th anniversary of the Act in 2016. The Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 was one of Queensland’s most important laws to be passed as part of major legal reform undertaken by the Goss Labour Government in the early 1990s. The Act was a game-changer that would influence the way Queenslanders lived, worked, and interacted. Twenty-five years later, what was the impact of the Act and is anti-discrimination legislation enough to protect human rights in Queensland? Dean Wells, Barrister and former Queensland Attorney-General (1989-1995), The Honourable Yvette D’Ath, Queensland Attorney-General (2015-current), and Aimee McVeigh, Campaign Coordinator for A Human Rights Act in Queensland, reflect on 25 years of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 and its relevance to all Queenslanders.
View Building a case to Act.Run time is 8:37 minutes.
