HSV conducts regular public lectures, featuring guest speakers, aiming to stimulate active, rational debate on a wide range of current social and ethical issues. Speakers have included such personalities as Andrew Wilkie (formerly Office of National Assessments) on the decline of democracy, Dr Max Wallace (Continuing Education, Australian National University) on separating church and state, Dr Rob Sparrow (Human Bioethics, Monash University) on biotechnology and humanism, and Professor Brian Ellis (formerly Philosophy, La Trobe University) on social humanism.
HSV holds regular discussion meetings of members, advertised in the monthly newsletter. Typical subjects of discussion are submissions to be made by the Society to public bodies, presenting the Humanist view of important social questions (see Menus for past submissions).
HSV recognizes a need to counter religious influences in schools, and a curriculum of humanist ethics is being compiled.
Individual Humanists act as celebrants for secular weddings and officiate for funerals, naming ceremonies and other rites of passage if requested.
