Our Vision
Our Mission
To be the leading non-profit organisation in Australia working for the liberty of asylum seekers, refugees and stateless through legal action, advocacy and education.
A world in which all people enjoy liberty without discrimination
How we work
Human Rights for All brings a collaborative, creative and flexible approach to securing freedom for refugees and stateless people. We work in tandem with other law firms and human rights organisations on a wide range of cases.
HR4A represents clients before Tribunals, in the Federal Court, Federal Circuit Court and the High Court. We also make submissions to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD), Human Rights Council, the Committee against Torture and the Australian Human Rights Commission.
HR4A also focuses on advocacy and education to shine a light on the detention of refugees and the stateless.
How we started
Alison Battisson
Human Rights for All was founded and is headed by Director Principal, Alison Battisson. Before establishing HR4A, Alison worked as a corporate lawyer for top tier firms in Australia, the UK and Indonesia. She has also worked with various volunteer organisations in Zimbabwe, Australia and the UK.
Alison has a Bachelor of Law (Hons) from the University of Sydney, a Bachelors of Asian Studies and Arts from the Australian National University, a Post Graduate Certificate in Law from the University of London and a Masters of Law (Human Rights and Social Justice) from the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Alison has been included on the UNSW Dean’s list for academic excellence.
Alison is an in-demand speaker, lecturer and panelist, who can speak authoritatively to media, audiences and students on a wide range of issues related to arbitrary detention, stateless persons, and the ongoing punitive policies towards such people.
Alison has received a number of awards for her work.
How we started
How we started
Our passion-driven team makes up our core strength
The Human Rights for All team is comprised of senior lawyers, paralegals and administrative support personnel, all of who are passionate about ending arbitrary detention and obtaining liberty for as many long-term detained persons as possible. We look towards a future where mandatory detention for refugees and the stateless no longer exists, and instead there is a fair and just path to a safe and productive life.
Our paralegal team includes law students from a number of NSW universities, all of who have a particular interest in human rights law. HR4A also provides supervision for law graduates completing their Practical Legal Training (PLT). Paralegals are exposed to unique cases at all levels of advocacy and Australia’s legal system, including to the High Court of Australia.
Our Board
HR4A has a board of legal and financial experts.
For further information on the board, or to express interest in joining the board, please contact us.
Our International Profile
In December 2021, after several years of submissions to the UN, particularly the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (for which all opinions involving Australia handed down by the Working Group were for our cases), it was confirmed that Human Rights For All has been granted Special Consultative Status by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). This allows NGOs like HR4A to designate representatives to attend, appear at and observe at the UN in New York and Geneva. This is a pretty big deal, which will allow us to continue to highlight the issues around long-term and arbitrary immigration detention in Australia. We are incredibly proud of this acknowledgement of our ongoing advocacy in relation to Australia's immigration detention regime.
Annual Reports
Click here to read our Annual Reports:
2019-2020
2020-2021