113. HREOC ^[41] advises that there are hundreds, or possibly thousands of human rights defenders operating at the federal, state, territorial and local level in Australia. Numerous human rights groups are involved in advocacy, education and various actions on a local and national level. Groups work on specific issues such as the rights of indigenous Australians; the human rights of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers; violence against women, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights; and they also work in general on legislation issues with regard to human rights. New security legislation in relation to “combating terrorism” and the impact this legislation has on civil and political rights has emerged as an important issue in the last few years.

link to full text of the Report:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/chr/docs/62chr/E.CN.4.2006.95.Add.5_.pdf