Final Report submitted

On 30 November 2023, the Final Report of the ALRC’s Corporations and Financial Services Legislation Inquiry was submitted to the Attorney-General. Thank you to everyone who contributed during the Inquiry. We look forward to participating in public discussions on the ALRC’s recommendations in due course.

Article: The regulatory challenges of evolving technology and financial services law

As the Corporations and Financial Services Legislation Inquiry concludes, Dr Vannessa Ho, ALRC Legal Officer, looks to the future and asks: in an ever-evolving technological landscape, what will be the next challenge for financial services law?

This short article explores some recent innovations — such as ‘robo-advice’ — and the regulatory challenges that future developments pose in the context of financial services law.

How time flies: You’re almost 23, Corporations Act

In 2021, the ALRC marked the 20th birthday of the Corporations Act. As the Act approaches its 23rd birthday in 2024, revisit the light-hearted dialogue in which a mother and father implore their son (the Corporations Act) to grow up.

Final Report update

The ALRC is due to submit its Final Report to the Attorney-General by 31 December 2023. Thank you to the many people and organisations that made submissions, completed the survey, and participated in consultations during the Inquiry into Religious Educational Institutions and Anti-Discrimination Laws.

Background Papers

The ALRC has published two Background Papers that provide a high-level overview of topics of relevance to the Inquiry, including key principles and areas of research that underpin the development of recommendations.

International Comparisons (ADL1)

Around the world, jurisdictions have grappled with the problem of how best to maximise realisation of all human rights in the context of religious educational institutions. Different jurisdictions have dealt with this issue in different ways, which has led to a variety of legal approaches. This Background Paper discusses the application of anti-discrimination law to religious educational institutions from a comparative law perspective. The laws of five foreign jurisdictions are examined, including the European Union, England and Wales, the Republic of Ireland, New Zealand, and Canada.

What We Heard (ADL2)

This Background Paper aims to reflect what the ALRC heard from a wide range of stakeholders during its Inquiry into Religious Educational Institutions and Anti-Discrimination Laws. The Background Paper includes an overview of the Inquiry approach, including the methodology adopted to create an evidentiary base for the ALRC’s recommendations, and an analysis and discussion of key themes and interrelated issues which emerged from consultations, submissions, and survey responses.

Webinar

Maximising rights in religious educational institutions: International perspectives

In August 2023, the ALRC and Wolters Kluwer hosted a webinar to hear from international human rights experts on how to best maximise the realisation of all rights in the context of religious educational institutions.

Speakers included former UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, Professor Heiner Bielefeldt (University of Erlangen-Nuremberg), Professor Lucy Vickers (Oxford Brookes University), and Professor Carolyn Evans (Griffith University). The discussion centred on what happens when rights to non-discrimination and religious freedom interact, and how limitations on rights are managed in the context of religious educational institutions, internationally.

Season’s greetings

The ALRC expresses its gratitude to everyone who has contributed to and engaged with the ALRC’s work in 2023. Best wishes for a safe festive season and a happy new year.