Human rights are relevant to Australian companies:

• The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services and the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee conducted inquiries into various aspects of corporate responsibility in the Australian context. Both committees agreed that this was an increasingly important area for the corporate sector.
• A range of Australian laws currently require corporations to comply with human rights standards. While these laws are not always framed in human rights language, the standards they stipulate are in fact based on human rights. Examples include:
  •     Laws prohibiting discrimination and harassment in the workplace and laws requiring employers to provide equal employment opportunities. Such laws address the rights to equality and non-discrimination, which are set out in various international treaties including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
  •     Laws regulating conditions of work. For example, occupational health and safety, terms and conditions of employment, minimum wage, collective bargaining, and prohibition of child labour and forced labour. Such laws address a range of labour rights, which are contained in various instruments adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and in major international human rights treaties.
  •     Laws regarding Native Title. Such laws address economic, social and cultural rights including property rights, which are set out in various international treaties including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

•     Laws imposing liability on corporations for certain acts which impact on human rights, such as bribery of foreign officials or complicity in war crimes or crimes against humanity. Such laws are based on standards contained in a range of international instruments, for example the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
• In addition to the human rights standards which Australian companies are legally obliged to comply with under domestic laws, there is a broader range of human rights that are relevant to corporate activity. Depending on the specific activities carried out by a corporation, these might include:
  •     The right to liberty and security of the person.
  •     The right to an adequate standard of living (including adequate food, water, shelter and clothing), the right to education, the right to health, and other economic, social and cultural rights.
  •     The right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.
  •     The right to freedom of expression.
  •     The rights of Indigenous peoples.

Many Australian companies incorporate into their CSR policies the human rights standards they must comply with under Australian law. Some Australian companies go beyond domestic legal requirements and participate in voluntary initiatives on CSR and human rights, including the United Nations Global Compact and the Global Reporting Initiative.