Australia enjoys a reputation as a country in which human rights have been observed and protected to a very high degree. However, two groups which are often mentioned as not enjoying the same benefits are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Indigenous Australians are over-represented in statistics for poor health, welfare dependency, imprisonment rates and other ‘poor quality of life’ indicators.
Before 1901, the individual colonies (later ‘states’) had full responsibility for making laws that affected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as groups. In Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia there were restrictions on what work Indigenous peoples could do, and there were restrictions on the movement of Aboriginal people in all colonies except South Australia and Tasmania. These restrictions did not apply to other Australians.
This situation did not change with the creation of the Commonwealth of Australia. The Australian Constitution and some Acts of Parliament passed in the early part of the 20th century effectively meant that the Aboriginal people were not full citizens of the new nation.