News & Media

The Australian Law Reform Commission today released a Discussion Paper for its inquiry into legal barriers to older persons participating in the workforce and other productive work—Grey Areas: Age Barriers to Work in Commonwealth Laws (ALRC DP 78, 2012).

“Australia needs a new classification scheme that applies consistent rules to media content on all platforms—in cinemas, on television, on DVDs and on the internet,” said Professor Terry Flew, Commissioner in charge of the ALRC’s review of the National Classification Scheme. “But the scheme also needs to be flexible, so it can adapt to new technologies and the challenges of media convergence.”

The Attorney-General, the Hon Nicola Roxon MP, has announced the appointment of Professor Jill McKeough as Commissioner in charge of the ALRC’s Inquiry into Copyright Law. Professor McKeough is currently Dean of Law at the University of Technology, Sydney and will take leave from this position to join the ALRC for the duration of this inquiry.

“In an age of media convergence, Australia needs a 21^st century classification system that is more platform-neutral, concentrates government regulation on media content of most concern to the community, and a system that can be adapted to accelerated media innovation,” said Professor Terry Flew, Commissioner in charge of the National Classification Scheme Review.

Advocating a facilitative approach that emphasises the role of the judiciary in robust case management, particularly in large and complex cases, is one of the key reforms suggested by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) in its most recent inquiry into the process of discovery in federal courts. The ALRC’s final report—Managing Discovery: Discovery of Documents in Federal Courts (ALRC Report 115)—was tabled today in federal Parliament and is the result of a 10-month inquiry.