News and Media

Media releases

For media queries, please contact comms@alrc.gov.au.

06.04.2009

Cost, formality of Royal Commissions queried in ALRC Review

The Australian Law Reform Commission today released an Issues Paper, Review of the Royal Commissions Act (IP35) seeking feedback from the community on 49 questions posed as part of its current review of the Royal Commissions Act 1902 (Cth). The ALRC has been asked by the Attorney-General, the Hon Robert McClelland MP, to review the

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09.02.2009

National phone-in and blog on Commonwealth Secrecy Laws

The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) today announced a national two day phone-in and new online discussion forum as part of its commitment to engaging in widespread community consultation on reform of Commonwealth secrecy laws. Anyone who has ever been involved in handling Commonwealth information will have the chance to speak out about their personal experiences

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03.02.2009

ALRC expresses deep gratitude to Justice Michael Kirby for service to law reform

Marking the resignation of Justice Michael Kirby, the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) President, Professor David Weisbrot, today expressed his admiration and gratitude to the former High Court Judge for his outstanding dedication to law reform in Australia. Professor Weisbrot said Justice Kirby has definitive views on law reform and in  Kirby’s own words said

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21.01.2009

ALRC to consider flexibility, formality and cost of Royal Commissions

The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) welcomed the announcement today by the Commonwealth Attorney-General, the Hon Robert McClelland MP, of new Terms of Reference for the ALRC to review the Royal Commissions Act 1902 (Cth) and related issues.  The Terms of Reference ask the ALRC to focus on a number of matters, including: whether there

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23.12.2008

Government to implement ALRC’s Sedition Report

Australian Law Reform Commission President, Professor David Weisbrot, welcomed the Government’s positive response to the ALRC’s 2006 report Fighting Words: A Review of Sedition Laws in Australia (ALRC Report 104), announced today by the Commonwealth Attorney-General, the Hon Robert McClelland MP. The ALRC made 27 recommendations for reform of the law in this area, and

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09.12.2008

Do we need secrecy laws in an open society?

The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) today released a community consultation paper for its current inquiry into Commonwealth Secrecy laws.—Review of Secrecy Laws (Issues Paper 34)—which seeks ideas and feedback about how we balance the need to maintain the secrecy and confidentiality of some government documents with a commitment to increased openness and transparency. ALRC

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01.10.2008

ALRC revisits the legal rights of children and young people in Australia

It is now a little over ten years since the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (now the Australian Human Rights Commission) released the landmark 1997 report Seen and Heard: Priority for Children in the Legal Process (ALRC Report 84). Seen and Heard represented the culmination of a

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11.08.2008

Media Briefing – Simplifying and harmonising privacy law and practice

11 August 2008, Privacy Inquiry A consolidated set of privacy principles The Privacy Act provides different sets of Privacy Principles for the handling of personal information by government agencies and by private sector organisations. Contractors to the Australian Government, government business enterprises, and those involved in public-private partnerships may be bound to comply with both

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11.08.2008

Australia must rewrite privacy laws for the Information Age

The Australian Law Reform Commission’s landmark report For Your Information: Australian Privacy Law and Practice (ALRC 108), was launched today in Sydney by the Cabinet Secretary, the Hon Senator John Faulkner, and the Attorney-General, the Hon Robert McClelland MP.The three-volume, 2700 page report is the culmination of a massive research and consultation exercise conducted over

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11.08.2008

Media Briefing – Protecting Health Information in the Digital Age

11 August 2008 Electronic health records In recent years, there have been increasing pressures, particularly from government, to move from paper to electronic health records. The ALRC’s Privacy Inquiry coincided with a number of major initiatives to develop electronic medical records—including the proposed national Shared Electronic Health Records system, in which a summary of personal

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