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Just 24 hours after the legal profession warned that time was "running out" to protect fundamental liberties in New South Wales, the state’s Parliament has voted to establish a formal inquiry into the Greens’ Human Rights Bill 2025, marking a significant step toward the state potentially adopting its first-ever Human Rights Act.

The Bill, originally introduced in October 2025 by Member for Newtown and Greens spokesperson for Human Rights, Jenny Leong MP, seeks to codify basic protections into state law and was set to lapse on 26 March 2026. The vote, which took place today, effectively halts this countdown. 

Yesterday, NSW Bar Association President Dominic Toomey SC and Law Society President Ronan MacSweeney argued that protecting human rights should not be a “legislative afterthought.”   

MacSweeney hailed today’s referral of the Human Rights Bill to a NSW inquiry as an “unambiguously positive step” toward establishing a standalone Act for the state to “define and protect the rights of NSW citizens.”

“The Law Society of NSW, including the expert solicitor volunteers on our Human Rights Committee, looks forward to taking an active role in this inquiry.

I congratulate the broad range of legal and community stakeholders, including the NSW Bar Association, for their determined advocacy, which has resulted in this inquiry.” 

The resolution marks a major victory for the Human Rights Act for NSW Alliance, whose members stood outside Parliament yesterday morning pleading for this exact outcome. Their calls were bolstered by a formal letter sent to NSW Premier Chris Minns by eight crossbench MPs urging him to back a public inquiry before the legislative clock ran out. 

Leong hailed the Parliament’s decision as a victory for community dignity, suggesting the inquiry will serve as a vital bridge between the government and the public. 

“At a time when fractures in our community run wide and deep… NSW Parliament is at a critical inflection point: we can choose to offer hope, or we can choose to fuel hate,” Leong said. “A NSW Human Rights Act would completely transform the public sector from one in which human rights are an afterthought to one that truly has the community’s best interests at heart.” 

Currently, New South Wales trails behind the ACT, Victoria, and Queensland, all of which have already implemented human rights charters. This upcoming inquiry is set to begin a phase of public consultation before delivering its final findings to Parliament. 

If passed following the inquiry, the Act would establish a legal framework enabling citizens to take action when their fundamental rights are overlooked. Advocates believe the Bill would most significantly benefit the state’s most vulnerable populations by improving housing rights and security, child protection systems, LGBTQIA+ and cultural rights, and access to services within regional and rural areas.