Law Report

Five years on, has the NT royal commission into youth detention achieved what it set out to do? Why do some children commit crime? Research reveals calls for more government support for Indigenous kinship carers in WA. Also, when you are fighting with your neighbour over things like noise, trees or pets, whose side is the law on? In the third part of a special for The Law Report, we dig through re...

When you are fighting with your neighbour over things like noise, trees or pets, whose side is the law on?

Hundreds of thousands of customers could be eligible to claim compensation after three of Australia's biggest banks – the Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and Westpac – settled class actions worth $126m over the sale of 'junk' insurance policies. Also, when you are fighting with your neighbour over things like noise, trees or pets, whose side is the law on? In the second of a four-part special for The Law R...

We dig through recent cases with legal experts to find out when it comes to noisy neighbours who are in the right.

The New South Wales government has offered a lukewarm response to a parliamentary committee report that calls for an overhaul of the state's coronial system. And, when you are fighting with your neighbour over things like noise, trees or pets, whose side is the law on?

For the first time a journalist is allowed to record in the Thomas Embling Hospital, Melbourne's forensic healthcare facility. Meet therapists, the psychiatrist in charge and some of the patients who have committed a serious crime but are deemed not responsible for their actions due to mental illness. This episode first aired in March 2021.

Why did the actions of one juror lead to a mistrial for Bruce Lehrmann? And the case of a Brisbane motorbike accident victim who failed to secure compensation because he couldn't identify the truck that caused the incident.

The head of a team of United Nations torture experts speaks exclusively to the Law Report about the decision to suspend inspections of detention facilities in Australia. And, in a court or tribunal hearing, can one side use secret evidence that the other can't see?  

The UN is urging Australian governments to offer unlimited access to UN inspectors visiting prisons and other detention facilities around the country. And Justice Jayne Jagot has been sworn in as the newest member of the High Court and for the first time a majority of the sitting judges on Australia's highest court are women.

What do Australia's leading lawyers think about the Federal Government's plan to enshrine a First Nations' voice to parliament in the constitution? The country's top legal minds have been meeting to 'pressure test' the draft model. And how should judges be appointed?

Does the Federal Government's draft legislation for a national anti-corruption commission go far enough? And retired UK Supreme Court judge Lord Jonathan Sumption speaks to the Law Report about Julian Assange's fight against extradition to the US, the arrests of protesters following Queen Elizabeth's death, judicial appointments, and Brexit.

When police are called out to a domestic violence incident, do officers' body-worn video cameras always capture an accurate and complete record of what's taking place?

The High Court has upheld the constitutional validity of West Australian legislation that allows prisoners to be held in indefinite detention if a judge finds they could be at risk of committing a serious offence. It's feared the verdict may open the door for other states to expand the use of 'post-sentence' detention laws.

A look at the legal and constitutional role of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. And the Commonwealth Ombudsman Iain Anderson discusses the expected visit to Australia by the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture. 

The New South Wales Supreme Court has ordered a judicial review into the convictions of the so-called 'Croatian Six'. Justice Robertson Wright said there are doubts and questions about the evidence used to convict the men in 1981.

New South Wales Supreme Court Justice Ian Harrison has found former teacher Christopher Dawson guilty of murdering his wife Lynette, who disappeared in 1982. And calls for legislative change to help relieve Centrelink debt for people fleeing family and domestic violence. 

The Federal Government has released legal advice from the Solicitor General regarding the former prime minister Scott Morrison's move to secretly appoint himself to multiple ministries. And the High Court has ruled in favour of internet giant Google in a defamation case involving a Melbourne lawyer.

Should activist groups be allowed to use secretly filmed footage to expose the treatment of animals at farms and abattoirs? And Somebody's Daughter theatre company returns to the stage with stories of women's lives in prison, co-written and performed by former inmates. 

When parents and doctors disagree, how do courts decide whether to withdraw life support from a hospitalised child? The creation of a federal judicial commission is among the recommendations of the Australian Law Reform Commission's report on judicial impartiality. The high-profile defamation litigation between billionaire politician Clive Palmer and WA premier Mark McGowan has ended in a draw.

Should researchers collect and publish statistics which reveal how judges and tribunal members decide refugee cases? Is this a way of understanding legal decision making or does it risk undermining confidence in the justice system? 

Electric scooters are becoming an increasingly popular form of transport, but there is a confusing mosaic of laws that regulate their use across Australia. So, when accidents happen – who should be held legally liable?

Queensland has introduced laws to crack down on 'claim farming', a practice where members of the public are contacted and encouraged to make compensation claims. And a new study has found 'inconsistencies' in the way courts consider the possible impact of media coverage on sentencing decisions.

The small Pacific island nation of Vanuatu is behind a campaign to raise the issue of climate change before the International Court of Justice. And how should culturally sensitive historical photographs be handled? A leading US university is sued for allegedly causing emotional distress.

An in-depth look at Victoria's law to ban the public display of the Nazi swastika amid calls for the Federal Government to legislate a national ban on the symbol. And the case of a West Australian man who spent more than a decade in prison for a crime he didn't commit has led to new legal avenues for appeal for others who may have been wrongfully convicted.

Reforming the Public Interest Disclosure Act "is a significant matter because it is linked to the national anti-corruption commission that we hope to legislate this year," the federal Attorney General Mark Dreyfus has told the Law Report. In a wide-ranging interview, Mr Dreyfus outlines his legislative priorities, including reforming the Privacy Act, media freedoms, and a review of the Administrat...