Human Rights in Focus - Between Code and Consequence: Navigating AI with a Human Rights Lens with Lorraine Finlay

Join us for the the third webinar for 2025 in our new Human Rights in Focus series which will be delivered by Lorraine Finlay, Australian Human Rights Commissioner.

Lorraine will explore how artificial intelligence (AI) and automated decision-making are reshaping public sector service delivery and decision-making across Australia. As governments adopt new technologies, questions arise about how to protect and promote human rights in the digital space. The session will examine the human rights implications of AI, ranging from privacy and data protection to equality, transparency, and accountability, and offer practical guidance for applying a rights-based approach to technology in government settings. Drawing on national and international developments, including findings from the Australian Human Rights Commission’s Human Rights and Technology project, the session will explore the critical role of public authorities in identifying and managing risks, embedding safeguards, and ensuring that innovation is inclusive and ethical. Participants will also gain insight into how human rights frameworks can guide public sector decision-making in this emerging area, helping them ask the right questions and make proportionate, rights-compliant decisions in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

Event details

Title: Between Code and Consequence: Navigating AI with a Human Rights Lens
Date and time:1 to 2pm, Tuesday, 14 October 2025
Format: Keynote presentation and Q&A
Delivery: via Zoom
Audience: Victorian public sector workers
Cost: Free to attend, but registration required

Our speaker, Lorraine Finlay

Lorraine Finlay commenced her term as Human Rights Commissioner on 22 November 2021.

Prior to joining the Commission Lorraine has worked as a lawyer and academic specialising in human rights and public law. Her most recent roles have been as the Senior Human Trafficking Specialist with the Australian Mission to ASEAN, and as a law lecturer at Murdoch University. In her academic role Lorraine has lectured in areas including criminal law, constitutional law and international human rights, and has been recognised with a number of national and university awards for her teaching and research.

Before moving to academia, Lorraine worked as a State Prosecutor with the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (WA) and at the High Court of Australia, initially as a Legal Research Officer and later as a Judges’ Associate. Lorraine is a former Singapura Scholar, being awarded a dual Masters in Law from New York University (majoring in Justice and Human Rights) and the National University of Singapore (majoring in International and Comparative Law).

Lorraine has also been actively involved in a variety of community organisations. Most recently this has included being a member of the Executive Committee of the National Council of Women (WA) (2011-2019) and a Board Member of the Ishar Multicultural Women’s Health Service (2013-2018). Lorraine has previously been awarded the Centenary Medal and WA Law Society Youth Community Service Award for her volunteer work.

https://humanrights.gov.au/our-work/commission-general/human-rights-commissioner-ms-lorraine-finlay