The Law Handbook 2024

1046 Section 11: Rights, activism and fair treatment at work Management Centre on the Our Community website at www.ourcommunity.com.au, and click on the ‘insurance’ tab in the Community Resources Section. Arranging insurance There are cost-effective ways that budget-conscious community groups can obtain insurance. For example, a community group can align itself with a sympathetic organisation that already has insurance and can get that organisation to auspice the group’s activities. This organisation may be a specially created entity that offers a range of services to community groups (e.g. insurance, auditing, receiving and acquitting funding grants). Religious groups are a good example of organisations that are sometimes willing to auspice the activities of community groups. Another cost-effective method is for a community group to obtain insurance in its own right through one of the special insurance schemes available to not- for-profit organisations. For example, the Municipal Association of Victoria ( MAV ) offers the not-for- profit sector broader eligibility criteria for insurance, to enable more not-for-profit groups to benefit from low-cost insurance and attractive terms and conditions. MAV, through its insurance broker, has negotiated the inclusion of Victorian not-for-profit groups within a national community insurance facility, known as Local Community Insurance Services. This can provide cover for the community group’s day-to- day activities as well as for festivals and events. Quotes can be obtained by submitting an online request. (For the Local Community Insurance Services’ contact details, see ‘Contacts’ at the end of this chapter.) Ansvar Insurance also offers public liability insurance to not-for-profit groups throughout Australia. For further information and contact details, go to the Community Insurance and RiskManagement Centre on the Our Community website at www. ourcommunity.com.au (click on the ‘insurance’ tab). Protesting: Your rights and the police Your rights Our rights to protest, demonstrate and take part in political activities are recognised by the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) ( UNUDHR ) as well as by many other international human rights conventions and covenants. A right to freedom of peaceful assembly is part of international law under the UNUDHR (Article 20) and the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966) ( UNICCPR ) (Article 21). The right to engage in participatory democracy ‘without unreasonable restrictions’ is clearly acknowledged by the UNICCPR (Article 25). In Victoria, the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 (Vic) (‘ Human Rights Charter ’) legislates a limited ‘right of freedom of expression’ (s 15) and ‘peaceful assembly and freedom of association’ (s 16). Public authorities can breach these rights if the limitation can be ‘demonstrably justified’ (s 7). In Australia, it is difficult to assert the rights enshrined in international law because many rights have not been incorporated into Australian domestic law. Also, where these rights have been incorporated into the Human Rights Charter, they can only be asserted by ‘piggy-backing’ them onto separate legal proceedings, such as a criminal defence or a tort claim. In Australia, there is an implied freedom of communication about political and governmental matters as that freedom of communication is essential to the maintenance of the system of representative and responsible government provided by the Australian Constitution. This implied freedom of communication operates as a limit on the use of legislation to impede freedom of expression. It does not operate as a right to speak or to be heard. Political communication includes non-verbal communication, assembly and movement for the purpose of political protest. The analysis requires the courts to decide if legislation burdens the freedom implied in the Constitution. Such analysis can produce unexpected results. For example, a law prohibiting communication has recently been upheld as not being constitutionally invalid (see Clubb v Edwards; Preston v Avery [2019] HCA 11, 10 April 2019; discussed in ‘Safe access zones’, below.) Protests and the police Protesting often attracts the police’s attention. Sometimes the police accommodate a protest and do not exercise their authority. You may consider contacting the police before a protest, to allay their concerns about the protest’s intentions.