Report: Human Rights, Legal Frameworks, and Social Work in Australia

This report addresses critical issues related to human rights and the law in Australia, particularly focusing on the rights of children and indigenous communities. The first part of the report presents a case study involving a family with a child suffering from intellectual impairment, exploring legal actions, ethical responsibilities of social workers, and reporting procedures to the Children's Court. The second part of the report delves into broader legal and social issues, including constitutional recognition of indigenous rights, over-incarceration of Aboriginal people, and child abuse and neglect within indigenous communities. The report examines the complexities of these issues and proposes potential solutions, referencing relevant legislation, ethical guidelines, and scholarly articles. The report highlights the role of social work in advocating for vulnerable individuals and communities and provides insights into the legal and social challenges faced by marginalized groups in Australia. The references include scholarly articles and government resources that provide a comprehensive overview of the subject matter.

Running Head: HUMAN RIGHT & THE LAW
HUMAN RIGHT & THE LAW
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1HUMAN RIGHT & THE LAW
Question 1
1. Relevant Law
A range of measure can be legally utilized for the right to access the law and legal
system of the Australian citizens. In this context, the legal action that can be taken in this
case where one of the children in suffering from Intellectual impairment and as Yasser
does not have the capability to understand and make their own judgment. Legal order can
be sought to enable the social worker to make financial and other decision making on their
behalf. The guardianship Act 1987 that emphasis on the incapability of making any
decision and can use Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 for
restricting the children to do anything that the parent could do
(Domesticviolence.nsw.gov.au. 2018).
Ethical and professional responsibilities
In this context, the following strategies need to be taken up being a social worker:
 the social worker is required to set up a provision for direct counselling of the
Yasser, Fatima, and the parents of the children as a part of wider sense of
responsibilities.
 The social worker can also serve as liaison between the Police department and the
agency for social work for supporting Yaseer and Fatima.
 The worker could collaborate with the health care providers to ensure the
wellness.
 As stated by Bakker (2015), the social worker can also address legal factors such as
supporting them financially as well as emotionally in court hearing and offering
testimony associated with the children and their parents.

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 The social worker also is required to conduct research, development of policy and
advocacy for the services for maintaining the case history records of the issue for
future purpose.
2. Report to the Children’s Court in accordance with brief outline of the issues
The Honorable Court needs to be informed about the condition of Fatim and Yassar,
the minor children of Yasmin and Hassan Yusrat who has been identified as vulnerable due
to the adverse family situation they are going through. The father being detained for unlawful
immigration is yet to receive a lawful refugee status while mother is working immensely hard
to run the family. The ambience at their home is undoubtedly not healthy presently. The
minor boy, Yassar has been claimed as intellectually disable by the medical practitioner and
the minor girl, Fatima has been a prey of the adverse and unhealthy situation at home. Her
verbal aggressive conduct has forced the police department to issue an Interim Apprehended
Violence Order against Fatima. The conduct of the minors can be deduced based on the
following issues, legal and social that they are passing through:
 The unlawful immigrant status of Hassan, the father affects the family as a whole. The
temperament of Hassan does not seem to be normal and appropriate for the children.
 The financial situation of the family does not seem to be appropriate for the children
to live a comfortable life, as Yasmin is the only breadwinner.
 The intellectual disability of Yassar affects Yasmin, his mother and Fatima, his minor
sister. Special attention is required for him immediately.
 Fatima is facing a severe issue of insecurity at her home as firstly for being beaten up
by her mentally disabled brother and secondly for the speculation of her marriage at
the age of 14, which is unacceptable and illegal.

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 It can be speculated that the signs of physical abuse on Yasmin, Fatima and Yassar
are an example of the aggressive temperament of Hassan as the situation at home was
fine before Hassan’s arrival from detention home.
Therefore, as a social help, it is recommended that the Court should order the Province to
take up the responsibility of care and security of the minors until the situation at their home
improves or they attend the age of maturity, whichever is earlier.
Question 2
1. For several aboriginal and indigenous families, there is a complicated debate hailing
over the constitution that seems to be a world away. Constitutional recognition should have
fixed the issues of aboriginal people and should have treated them with amity and kindness.
However, Axleby and Wanganeen (2018) states that the rights within the constitutional
recognition has not been respected. The reform needed to ensure that the people were treated
reasonably in their future so that all the Australian could move forward together with
happiness (Brennan 2018). It can be agreed upon that most of the aboriginal people would
like have a treaty with the Australian government to protect them other than constitutional
recognition. This is because putting the people under constitutional change will only bring
laws for this people. According to Milman (2018), negotiation and treaty is major things that
is necessary to solve the big gap present in Australia.
2. The over incarceration of Aboriginal people represents that more people of Aboriginal
culture commits crime. The concept is a major played is by the factors of colonialism and
racism. Therefore, the concept is wrong as the evidence shows that Aboriginal people are
more seen to be searched for drugs and are arrested for whether they have drugs. The

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conservative estimation shows that almost 30to 50% of the people in the system of criminal
justice suffer from hepatitis C (McCormack 2018).
That shows that a huge number of people are imprisoned and arrested for drug
associated crimes who inject drugs but have denied to access the injecting equipment.
Anecdotal evidence shows that the police than the non-Aboriginal user of drugs heavily
charge Aboriginal people utilizing the drugs. Therefore, it cannot be agreed that aboriginal
people incarceration due to the commitment of crime, it is the consequence of racial
stereotypes.
3. Child abuse and neglect of the children within the Indigenous communities cannot
evaluated or addressed. However, measures centered on the community based responses that
empowers the requirement of the indigenous Australian. However, appropriate statistics
about the instances of child abuse and other family related violence within aboriginal
communities are not sufficient (Ireland 2018). The gap report suggest that there are almost
9,070 indigenous children were out of home car.
It is due to the child abuses and neglect that the children leaves home. It has been seen
that almost 35% of children are removed from their families as a result of which the
generations are being stolen from them and is leading to intervention (Behrendt 2018).
Children being separated from their families are forced to adjust with the white culture often
becomes difficult for them while speaking. Most of the children are placed under different
institutions through intervention where neglect and abuse are common. The families as well
as the children who are taken away from the family feel the adverse impact of these issues,
highly. The forced children due to their stolen generation often develops a substantial
depression and trauma for their families.

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Reference list
Alrc.gov.au. 2018. Protection orders and children—the current legal framework | ALRC.
[Online] Available at: https://www.alrc.gov.au/publications/20.%20Family%20Violence%2C
%20Child%20Protection%20and%20the%20Criminal%20Law/protection-orders-and-childr
[Accessed 10 Nov. 2018].
Axleby, C. and Wanganeen, K. 2018. Constitutional recognition must make Indigenous lives
better. Otherwise what’s the point?. [Online] the Guardian. Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/apr/20/constitutional-recognition-must-
make-indigenous-lives-better-otherwise-whats-the-point [Accessed 10 Nov. 2018].
Bakker, A.B., 2015. A job demands–resources approach to public service motivation. Public
Administration Review, 75(5), pp.723-732.
Behrendt, L. 2018. Indigenous kids are still being removed from their families, more than
ever before | Larissa Behrendt. [Online] the Guardian. Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/commentisfree/2016/feb/13/eight-years-after-
the-apology-indigenous-kids-are-still-being-removed-from-their-families [Accessed 10 Nov.
2018].
Brennan, B. 2018. Will constitutional recognition mean anything to Aboriginal families?.
[Online] ABC News. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-05-21/constitutional-
recognition-mean-anything-to-aboriginal-families/8544270 [Accessed 10 Nov. 2018].
Domesticviolence.nsw.gov.au. 2018. Apprehended Violence Orders (AVOs) - Domestic
Violence. [Online] Available at:
http://www.domesticviolence.nsw.gov.au/get-help/apprehended-violence-orders-avos
[Accessed 10 Nov. 2018].
Ireland, T. 2018. Removing Aboriginal children from their families has failed. There is
another way | Tim Ireland. [Online] the Guardian. Available at:

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https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/11/severing-aboriginal-children-from-
their-families-has-failed-there-is-another-way [Accessed 10 Nov. 2018].
McCormack, H. 2018. Aboriginal people are disproportionately affected by hepatitis. We
know why | #IndigenousX. [Online] the Guardian. Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/jul/27/aboriginal-people-are-
disproportionately-affected-by-hepatitis-we-know-why [Accessed 10 Nov. 2018].
Milman, O. 2018. Indigenous Australians want treaty, not constitutional recognition, says
elder. [Online] the Guardian. Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/jul/12/indigenous-australians-want-treaty-
not-constitutional-recognition-says-elder [Accessed 10 Nov. 2018].