About the Role

Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) is seeking expressions of interest from experienced lawyers to Co-Chair our National Business and Human Rights Subcommittee (BHR Subcommittee).

Together with the existing Chair, the new Co-Chair will be responsible for leading ALHR’s work in the business and human rights space at a national and international level.

The successful applicant will be a lawyer who is passionate about business and human rights and has significant knowledge, experience and expertise in the area. 

ALHR Co-Chairs facilitate research, coordinate submissions and comprehensive advocacy on business and human rights, and present them to key legal and political figures in order to keep the thematic area at the forefront of public discussion.

ALHR’s BHR Subcommittee was launched in September 2015 and has attracted a strong membership base, comprising over 70 lawyers, academics and law students, in Australia and beyond, with a keen interest in business and human rights issues.

Advocacy to address modern slavery has been a major focus of the subcommittee, including extensive work on the Cth Modern Slavery Act.

A further focus of the BHR Subcommittee has been on reform of the Australian OECD National Contact Point. 

The BHR Subcommittee has been highly active in advocating for implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in Australia. In particular, the BHR Sub-Committee has undertaken extensive work in advocating for the adoption of a National Action Plan to implement the UN Guiding Principles.

These areas will continue to be a major strategic priority for the subcommittee and the successful candidate will have a strong detailed technical background in one or more of them. 

The Subcommittee has also focused on organ transplant tourism and engaged with the United Nations in its recent work on BHR through the gender lens.

Please refer to the attached position description for further details of the relevant selection criteria for the role. 

About Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR)

ALHR was established in 1993 and is a national association of Australian solicitors, barristers, academics, judicial officers and law students who practise and promote international human rights law in Australia. ALHR has active and engaged National, State and Territory committees and specialist thematic committees. Through advocacy, media engagement, education, networking, research and training, ALHR promotes, practices and protects universally accepted standards of human rights throughout Australia and overseas.

ALHR utilises thematic subcommittees to increase the impact of our advocacy and has adopted a co-chair management structure within them. ALHR currently has a total of 10 subcommittees, including:

• Refugees Rights
• Human Rights Act
• Freedoms
• Disability Rights
• Indigenous Rights
• Business and Human Rights
• LGBTI Rights
• Women and Girls’ Rights
• Children’s Rights
• Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

This thematic focus serves to increase the impact of our strategic advocacy and enables ALHR to efficiently target areas of critical focus for Australian human rights practice.