Law Report

The Australian Law Reform Commission is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The Law Report's Damien Carrick hosted an event in Melbourne to mark its half century.

The implied freedom of political communication has been at the centre of several recent high-profile court decisions. The Law Report asks: do Australians have a constitutional right to freedom of speech? And what form does it take?

The Federal Government says it wants to reform the Freedom of Information system - what's in the proposed changes? And is the law keeping up with the growing number of pornographic deepfake images of young people being shared online?

The High Court has unanimously upheld the use of police evidence obtained by monitoring an encrypted messaging app used by organised criminals. The decision is a huge victory for policing, but does it raise questions about the breadth of Australia's surveillance laws?

As driver assistance technology become more prevalent, a persistent question remains: who is liable in the event of an accident? And looking into a future where fully driverless cars take to Australian roads: what new laws will we need?

Queensland man Terry Irving was recently awarded $130,000 in damages for a malicious prosecution over 30 years ago. The Law Report looks at compensation for wrongful convictions in Australia and asks: do we need a better system?

How does the recent advisory opinion handed down by the International Court of Justice shape discussions around climate change at the United Nations? And do Pacific island nations – among the most vulnerable to the impacts of global warming – believe Australia is doing enough to combat climate change? 

Papua New Guinea is celebrating 50 years of independence from Australia. Among the country's historic achievements is the national constitution, created in the 1970s using a groundbreaking process of public consultations across PNG. Five decades on, how well has PNG's constitution served its people?

"Your failure to exhibit any remorse pours salt into all the victims' wounds," said Judge Christopher Beale in sentencing Erin Patterson to life in prison, with a non-parole period of 33 years, for the murder of her elderly in-laws.

A massive manhunt for alleged police shooter Dezi Freeman is continuing in Victoria's mountainous north east. The 56-year-old, who is accused of killing two police officers, has expressed ideas linked to the 'sovereign citizen' movement. Who are sovereign citizens? And what impact are they having on Australia's justice system?

Former Coalition Federal Minister Linda Reynolds has won her defamation case against former parliamentary staffer Brittany Higgins. It has been widely reported that both parties literally put their houses on the line to fund their legal campaigns and today, almost a year after the trial wrapped, Justice Paul Tottle of the WA Supreme Court ordered that Brittany Higgins pay Linda Reynolds $315,000 i...

Victoria is the latest jurisdiction to adopt laws that punish offenders who brag about their crimes on social media, as Western Australia considers a similar bill to increase the maximum prison sentence. Critics fear the legislation could stifle free speech and lead to a rise in youth incarceration. And Australian regulations around electronic cigarettes are being tightened - are the new rules wor...

The Nine Network's Federal Court victory over high-profile surgeon Munjed Al Muderis marks the first time a media organisation has defended a defamation case on public interest grounds. And two people who claim to have directed a documentary being screened at the Melbourne International Film Festival are at the centre of an unusual legal fight.

The Federal Court has awarded a record $305,000 in damages to a young woman who was sexually harassed by her employer at a Sydney fast food restaurant. And is it time to change how Australian law defines terrorism?

As more countries move towards formal recognition of a Palestinian state, the Law Report examines the conditions for statehood under international law. And what are the risks, benefits and opportunities presented by electronic wills?

The Law Report speaks to one of the Australian women who won the right to sue Qatar Airways after being subjected to invasive searches at a Doha airport in 2020. And what does the International Court of Justice say about Australia's responsibility to combat climate change? 

As the International Court of Justice prepares to deliver a long-awaited climate advisory opinion, the Law Report explores the Federal Court ruling that Australia's government does not have a legal responsibility to protect Torres Strait islands from the impacts of climate change. And Denmark is planning to give citizens copyright protection over their face and voice.

In Australia, 'what is death' and other legal definitions, such as what constitutes human tissue, have not kept up with advances in medical science and technology.

Robodebt has shown that relying on automated decision making tools can be disastrous. What checks and balances could be developed to guide the safe and ethical use of AI in government operations, policy making and service delivery?

After seven days of deliberation, a jury has found Erin Patterson guilty of murder and attempted murder. The 50-year-old woman was found to have deliberately poisoned four members of her estranged husband's family by serving them a meal containing poisonous wild mushrooms two years ago. The trial in the Victorian Supreme Court in Morwell, outside of Melbourne, ran for more than two months and has...

The jury in mushroom cook Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial has retired to deliberate the verdict, guilty or not guilty. But what happens in there behind closed doors?  When they retire to the deliberation room, should they leave all of their personal beliefs and prejudices at the door? And is this even possible?  How does it work?  In this episode from our special series Inside the Jury Room w...

US President Donald Trump has praised a landmark Supreme Court ruling that struck down 'universal injunctions' issued by lower court judges, made in response to his executive order on birthright citizenship. What are the implications for numerous Trump administration policies blocked by court injunctions? And for the legal boundaries of presidential power?

The Federal Court has ruled that the ABC wrongfully dismissed journalist Antoinette Lattouf for reasons including that she "held a political opinion opposing the Israeli military campaign in Gaza." In this special episode, the Law Report looks at what the verdict means for the ABC, and employers and employees more generally.

Warren Tredrea, a prominent Adelaide football personality who unsuccessfully sued Channel 9 for unfair dismissal, has argued in court that his legal debt to the media organisation was settled with a written IOU note. Is this an example of 'pseudolaw'? And how do pseudolegal arguments impact on the courts' work?

Huge property loss is upending the lives of communities in flood-hit parts of New South Wales — what's happening to the rise in insurance claims in areas prone to flooding? And a look back at 50 years of the Australian Racial Discrimination Act.