In 2010 the High Court delivered several judgments with potentially significant implications for the protection of human rights in Australia. It invoked the doctrine of the implied constitutional freedom of communication in Aid/Watch, found that offshore processing of asylum seekers must comply with procedural fairness and natural justice, invalidated elements of the SA government's control order scheme as it encroached on the independence of the judiciary, and invalidated amendments to electoral laws that shortened the period for enrolment. In this review we evaluate the implications of these decisions in the wider context of the protection of human rights in Australia. We argue that while these decisions have made an important contribution to restating the boundaries of rights protection, there are significant limitations in relying on judicial review as a mechanism of rights protection within the Australian constitutional framework.