Speech by ALRC President, the Hon Justice Mordy Bromberg to the Commonwealth Law Conference, Malta 2025
Wednesday, 9 April 2025
ALRC President the Hon Justice Mordy Bromberg
The Australian Law Reform Commission is the Australian government’s independent research and advisory agency on law reform. We conduct inquiries, provide reports and make recommendations for the reform of Australian laws. Our legislative charter is to review those laws referred to us by the Attorney-General, in order to systematically develop and reform the law, particularly by:
- modernising the law;
- removing defects and simplifying the law;
- adopting new or more effective methods for administering the
law; and - providing access to justice.
Over its 50 year history, the ALRC has conducted some 80 inquiries and delivered thousands of evidence-based recommendations for the improvement of Australian law and practice. The ALRC has established a well-earned reputation for excellence. Our inquiries are co-led by renowned subject-matter experts and skilled law reformers. Our staff are skilled in policy development and legislative design. Our recommendations are based on comprehensive consultations and research.
Over 85% of ALRC reports have either been substantially or partially implemented. Beyond the direct influence our recommendations have had on legislation, the ripple effect of the ALRC’s work can be extensively observed in academic and judicial consideration of the law and its need for reform.
I will say more about the work of the ALRC later. First I want to set the scene to make the proposition that I hope you will all accept. My proposition is that independent law reform agencies have an important contribution to make in helping to ensure that our laws are fit for the future. There are converts in the room I know, so my pitch is really directed to the others – perhaps those from nations who have not had the benefit of ‘institutional law reform’. That is – law reform provided by a permanent institution which is expert at law reform and which, importantly, is independent of government.
Let me begin by spelling out some fairly obvious propositions that I am sure we can all agree with.
We can all agree that good law is a critical component of every well-functioning society. Law is about regulating the behaviour of persons in a sea of competing interests and values. Law provides the infrastructure for our social and our economic interactions. It governs our existence as a society. The importance of the law to our individual wellbeing, both social and economic, and to our coherence as a society cannot be overstated.
We can also all agree that law is more likely to be good law if it is well crafted and well maintained. Modern laws that are fit for the future will be laws that are well considered. They will be laws which are based on evidence rather than mere intuition. They will be laws which are founded upon policy which is inclusive. That is, laws which are formulated with extensive input from the very persons whose behaviour the law seeks to regulate in order to get their insights on the problems that the law reform exercise must address as well as to assist in finding the solutions.
As proponents of the Rule of Law, we can also agree that for a good law to be effective it needs to be accessible. Accessible in two respects. First, the law should be simple, clear and coherent and thus able to be understood and navigated by those whom it effects. In other words, the law must be well designed. Not only well drafted using clear and concise language but, importantly, the law must be based on an underlying structure which allows every part of the legislation to cohere and operate consistently with the next. Secondly, there must be access to justice. That is, equal access to the redress or the relief that the law intends to provide.
We are also likely to agree that there are laws on our statute books that are not good laws in the sense here being discussed. Australia’s statute book is, unfortunately, replete with examples of legislative disrepair, including important statutes which provide the legal infrastructure for many of our vital industries or provide the legal framework through which critical social services are distributed. There are numerous statutes which fail to meet a basic requirement of the Rule of Law – that our laws are clear and accessible.
Australia’s statute book is also replete with examples of laws that fail to satisfy or at least fully satisfy the laws’ policy objectives. Sometimes that is caused by the faulty design of the original architect. Commonly, knee-jerk legislative amendments designed to fix potholed problems lead to inconsistencies and policy incoherence. Sometimes, the behavioural change sought to be achieved by the law is cleverly avoided. Most often, laws in need of a policy make-over simply need to be modernized so that they better align with changed circumstances brought about by the
development of new technologies or the evolution of social norms.
Lastly, a further aspect of the consensus I am sure we all share, is that bad laws – that is laws that fail to meet their policy objectives or are inaccessible because of bad design or because the relief they promise is not sufficiently accessible to all – have both a human and an economic cost.
The economic costs are undoubtedly large. Overly prescriptive and structurally incoherent lawsresult in excessive compliance costs and in unnecessary but costly disputation. More expensive than that will be the fact that ineffective laws will fail to solve the social or commercial problems they were intended to resolve.
Of course, the social cost of bad legal design and a lack of legislative maintenance is also manifested in the failure to provide access to justice and to just outcomes. There is a heavy human cost and a heavy economic cost for a society that fails to optimise justice.
Poorly designed, poorly maintained and inaccessible laws are, I think, largely a product of the failure of government to appreciate the real value of good law. A failure to properly recognise law as vital infrastructure.
Governments seem to recognise the importance of building and maintaining the physical infrastructure necessary to sustain and nurture our economic well-being. New freeways are built, and our roads are systematically maintained so that the infrastructure necessary to sustain and improve our economic wealth is and remains best practice. In that respect, we see the value of spending money upfront to properly design our infrastructure, to build it with the best available components, and to service our investment with systematic and regular maintenance. It is, as
we recognise, money well spent because the benefits of good infrastructure far outweigh its cost.
When it comes to legal infrastructure, governments often fail to appreciate the benefits of well-designed laws and the enormous economic and social cost of poor legislative design and a lack of
systematic maintenance.
If we want our laws to purr then we need to make well-designed laws with evidence-based components. Those laws will need to be maintained. A service sticker, like that found on every car windscreen, should be stamped on every enactment. We need to recognise that laws based on little more than the intuition of the politicians who made them will not take us to where justice needs to be.
Law reform has an obvious role in making our laws purr. And the proposition I would like us all to accept is that institutional law reform can make an immensely valuable contribution to ensuring that our laws are and remain fit for the future.
Institutional law reform seems to be more prevalent in the Commonwealth family of nations than it is in the rest of the world. An explosion of institutional law reform amongst many nations of the
Commonwealth occurred in the 1960s and 1970s, with the establishment of law reform agencies in England and Wales, in Scotland and in most of the states and territories of Australia, as well as at the national level with the formation of the Australian Law Reform Commission in 1975.
Of course, beyond institutional law reform there are, and for many centuries have been, other kinds of law reform. Law reform has long been undertaken by judge-made common law. However, with the advent of representative government, the judiciary has generally retreated from significant innovation in deference to the theory that lawmaking is mostly for the elected. The elected engage in law reform processes most often within government departments and through parliamentary committees. Ad hoc Royal Commissions have also been significant sources of law reform. The field is somewhat crowded.
I do not wish to contend that law reform should always be done by law reform agencies like the ALRC. But I do contend that institutional law reform is a necessary cog in the wheel. It deserves to be recognised as an essential component of a representative democracy which provides fair, accessible and relevant laws of the kind that all of its citizens are entitled to enjoy.
There is little doubt in my mind that institutional law reform is best capable of delivering reform of the highest quality. Compared to other sources of law reform, well-resourced institutional law reform usually has one or more of the following advantages:
i. its work is considered and thorough and tends not to be hurried by political imperatives, as is often the case when law reform is done within government departments or by parliamentary committees;
ii. its actors are not ad hoc. Recognising that law reform is a discipline requiring unique skill and experience, institutional law reform is able to provide career reformers working closely with
subject-matter experts;
iii. it utilises evidence gathering techniques which tend to be superior in both the scope and the quality of the evidence collected, including because consultation with stakeholders will usually be
more thorough and evidence gathering will take into account both local and international experience;
iv. law reform institutions, like the ALRC, have exceptional access to the very best specialists – judges, scholars and leading practitioners both nationally and internationally – who provide
subject-matter expertise that significantly contributes to ideas for reform and ensures the quality-control necessary for effective reform;
v. lastly and importantly, law reform institutions like the ALRC function independently of government. The advice we give is frank and fearless. It is the best advice available and not simply what the government may want to hear. When law reform is done in-house, it will often be controlled by the political imperatives of government and will sometimes be more based in intuition than
evidence.
Furthermore, lawyers are not usually trained to think outside the box and generally do not. Law reformers must. Law reform should not be confined to tinkering within the comfort zone well known to and enjoyed by the specialist legal profession in the legal field being reformed. Law reformers should come into the field with fresh eyes and throw up for consideration fresh approaches for resolving what seem to be intractable legal problems. This is a critical contribution that institutional law reformers bring to the process of law reform and is particularly important to the reform of policy.
I return then to the work of the Australian Law Reform Commission to give some examples of the contribution to good laws that institutional law reform can make.
The ALRC has assisted the reform of Australian law across a diverse range of subjects including:
- human tissue laws (1977 and 2025);
- domestic or family violence (1986 and 2010);
- family law (1987 and 2017);
- occupiers liability (1998);
- class actions (1988 and 2017);
- multiculturalism (1992);
- discrimination (1994, 2014 and 2022);
- freedom of information (1996);
- genetics and gene patenting (2003 and 2004);
- privacy law (1983, 2006 and 2013);
- sedition (2006);
- native title (2013 and 2025);
- copyright & the digital economy (2012);
- elder abuse (2016);
- corporate criminal responsibility (2019);
- financial services (2020); and
- sexual violence (2024).
The codification of the common law rules of evidence into a national uniform evidence law is a celebrated example of the ALRC’s achievements in technical or doctrinal law reform. In relation to social policy reform, the ALRC’s report on the Recognition of Aboriginal Customary Laws is often credited for laying the foundations for the recognition of native title by Australia’s common law.
[Justice Bromberg closed with unprepared remarks noting the breadth and complexity of ALRC inquiry matters over the last several years]
END
13 May 2025
The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) congratulates the Hon Michelle Rowland MP on her appointment today as Commonwealth Attorney-General.
ALRC President the Hon Justice Mordy Bromberg acknowledged the new Attorney-General:
“The Commission congratulates Ms Rowland on her appointment to the role of Commonwealth Attorney-General, Australia’s first law officer. The ALRC offers valuable expertise and recommendations to government on reforming Australian law through its inquiries and reports, and I look forward to working with the Attorney-General and her department to modernise and improve the law.”
Justice Bromberg also thanked former Attorney-General the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP, saying:
“I want to thank former Attorney-General the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP for his contribution to the law over decades. His substantial legacy as Attorney-General should be recognised and celebrated, including his contribution to revitalising the ALRC.”
The ALRC is Australia’s independent law reform agency, conducting law reform inquiries referred by the Attorney-General. Throughout 2025 the ALRC celebrates its 50th anniversary, while undertaking one of its largest programs of work, comprising the current reviews of the future acts regime in native title law, surrogacy laws, and human tissue laws.
ENDS
For more information contact:
Jez Hunghanfoo
Director of Communications and Engagement
P: 03 9959 5313
E: comms@alrc.gov.au
W: www.alrc.gov.au
From the ALRC President
ALRC President the Hon Justice Mordy Bromberg
Welcome to the latest edition of the ALRC’s In Brief newsletter and the first for 2025, the ALRC’s 50th year.
I’m pleased to be leading the ALRC for this milestone anniversary, which happens to be one of our busiest years with three inquiries running. We are also planning to hold 50th anniversary celebrations and the Australasian Law Reform Agencies Conference in October this year.
Our three current inquiries, encompassing reviews of the future acts regime, human tissue laws, and surrogacy laws, emphasise the unique value of the ALRC as a legal research and policy powerhouse. Being independent of government, led by the evidence, and committed to thorough consultation, the ALRC prides itself on the quality of its work and the value of that work to the Australian community.
I know many of you will also have seen the release of our Final Report in the Inquiry into Justice Responses to Sexual Violence earlier this month. Safe, Informed, Supported: Reforming Justice Responses to Sexual Violence is a critically important Report, which found that overwhelmingly the justice system fails its twin goals of access to justice and accountability.
Our 64 recommendations focus on increasing access to justice, improving justice processes and accountability, and expanding justice pathways for those who have experienced sexual violence. You can read more about the Final Report and its release below.
I’m looking forward to a very full year of engaging law reform work, and hope that you’ll follow along and participate with us.
– Mordy Bromberg
The Hon Justice Mordecai Bromberg
President, Australian Law Reform Commission
The ALRC’s Inquiry into Justice Responses to Sexual Violence has concluded, with the Final Report tabled in Parliament on the 6th of March and now available to the public.
Safe, Informed, Supported: Reforming Justice Responses to Sexual Violence is the culmination of twelve months of research, investigation and consultation on how the justice system’s response to the unique harm of sexual violence can be improved. The Final Report and its 64 recommendations, are a roadmap to addressing the serious challenges facing the justice system and offering more and better access to justice for people who have experienced sexual violence.
We were also pleased to host a launch event and panel discussion on the issue of justice responses to sexual violence with ALRC President Justice Mordy Bromberg, Commissioner Marcia Neave, Expert Advisory Group member Sarah Rosenberg, and ABC journalist Patricia Karvelas as moderator. We were also privileged to have former prime minister Julia Gillard open the event. You can now watch the recording of the live event.
The ALRC is particularly grateful to the Lived Experience Expert Advisory Group, whose expertise informed the Final Report and recommendations. We thank everyone who contributed to the Inquiry through submissions and consultations.
New Inquiries Commenced: Surrogacy Laws and Human Tissue Laws
The ALRC has commenced work on two new Inquiries; a Review of Surrogacy Laws and a Review of Human Tissue Laws. Terms of reference have been formally received from the Attorney-General, and are available on our website.
We have also announced two senior appointments to these reviews: Dr Maeghan Toews has joined our Review of Human Tissue Laws as Commissioner, and Associate Professor Ronli Sifris has joined our Review of Surrogacy Laws as Assistant Commissioner. Both Dr Toews and Dr Sifris are well-regarded legal academics and experts in their respective fields, and the ALRC looks forward to drawing on their leadership and knowledge throughout these Inquiries.
The Review of the Future Acts Regime continues, with work now focused on our upcoming Discussion Paper. Having consulted on the challenges with the regime through our Issues Paper, the Discussion Paper will highlight possible solutions and reforms, and we will be seeking your input. Submissions will be open following the publication of the Discussion Paper in May. If you haven’t already, subscribe to updates from the Review of the Future Acts Regime to be notified when the Discussion Paper is published.
ALRC’s 50th Anniversary and Australasian Law Reform Conference (ALRAC)
This year, the ALRC celebrates half a century of law reform, from 1975-2025. In addition to the robust program of work being undertaken by the ALRC in its 50th year, we are also looking forward to two very special events.
Firstly, a 50th anniversary celebration dinner will be held, bringing together Presidents, Commissioners, staff, friends and colleagues of the Commission, past and present. With speeches and reflections from key contributors to our 50-year history, it promises to be a special evening and a chance to celebrate an outstanding legacy of law reform and legal innovation.
We are also pleased to be hosting the Australasian Law Reform Agencies Conference (ALRAC). Previously postponed due to covid, ALRAC has been organised and hosted by Australian and international law reform agencies, with the Victorian Law Reform Commission last hosting ALRAC in 2016. The ALRC team has commenced developing the conference program for ALRAC 2025, and will be in touch with law reform agencies and other prospective guests in due course.
Please keep an eye out for Save the Date invitations. If you have any questions or would like to express interest in these events, please get in touch.
The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) has announced Associate Professor Ronli Sifris as Assistant Commissioner for its Review of Surrogacy Laws. Assistant Commissioner Sifris is an Associate Professor at Monash University’s Faculty of Law and Deputy Director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law. Assistant Commissioner Sifris is a well-regarded specialist on surrogacy laws and has researched and published on a range of topics.
Assistant Commissioner Sifris will join the ALRC’s Review of Surrogacy Laws, led by ALRC President the Hon Justice Mordy Bromberg. Assistant Commissioner Sifris will help to lead and conduct the inquiry, together with the ALRC Inquiry team
Justice Bromberg welcomed Assistant Commissioner Sifris to the ALRC and the Inquiry:
“I am pleased to welcome Dr Ronli Sifris to the ALRC and our Review of Surrogacy Laws. Ronli brings expertise and specialisation on surrogacy laws, and has extensively researched this subject in both the Australian and international contexts. I look forward to working with her on this review.”
The ALRC’s Review of Surrogacy Laws were announced earlier this year, and the ALRC has been asked to deliver its final report to the Attorney-General by 29 July 2026.
LINKS
- Review of Surrogacy Laws on ALRC website: https://www.alrc.gov.au/inquiry/review-of-surrogacy-laws/
- Full Terms of Reference: https://www.alrc.gov.au/inquiry/review-of-surrogacy-laws/terms-of-reference
- Further information about the ALRC, its work and leadership: https://www.alrc.gov.au/about/
ENDS
For more information contact:
Jez Hunghanfoo
Director of Communications and Engagement
P: 0436 940 119
E: comms@alrc.gov.au
Launch Event: 8:00am Thursday 13th March 2025
The Australian Law Reform Commission is pleased to host a launch event for Safe, Informed, Supported: Reforming Justice Responses to Sexual Violence on Thursday 13th March 2025. Streaming online from Melbourne, the ALRC will give an overview of the report, its findings and recommendations, as well as a panel discussion with expert guests.
ALRC President the Hon Justice Mordy Bromberg will be joined by Inquiry Commissioner the Hon Marcia Neave AO, and member of the Inquiry’s Expert Advisory Committee and Executive Director of With You We Can Sarah Rosenberg, with a special video message from former prime minister the Hon Julia Gillard AC. Moderating the discussion will be ABC journalist and presenter Patricia Karvelas.
 Justice Mordy Bromberg |  Marcia Neave AO |
 Sarah Rosenberg |  Patricia Karvelas |
Event details
- Where: Streamed online via the ALRC channel on Youtube
- When: Thursday 13 March 2025, 8:00am-8:45am
No need to RSVP for the stream. Just visit ALRC’s Youtube channel on the morning, or watch via Youtube video embed below.
The report
Commonwealth Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus KC MP tabled the Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) report Safe, Informed, Supported: Reforming Justice Responses to Sexual Violence on Thursday 6th March 2025.
This report is the final product of our 12 month Inquiry led by Commissioners the Hon Marcia Neave AO, Judge Liesl Kudelka and ALRC President the Hon Justice Mordy Bromberg. The report incorporates extensive research and wide-reaching consultation with people with lived experience, experts and key organisations. This included a lived-experience Expert Advisory Group established by the Attorney-General’s Department, primarily comprised of people who have experienced sexual violence, as well as advocates.
The Final Report of the Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) Inquiry into Justice Reponses to Sexual Violence has been tabled in parliament today. The report, Safe, Informed, Supported: Reforming Justice Responses to Sexual Violence, and its 64 recommendations are the culmination of a 12-month Inquiry.
The ALRC has concluded that the justice system is currently failing to meet the twin goals of access to justice and accountability. The justice system is not supporting those who have experienced sexual violence to seek justice, nor holding those who use sexual violence to account.
Sexual violence is one of the most widespread and serious harms confronting Australia. One in 5 women and 1 in 16 men have experienced sexual violence since the age of 15. Despite this prevalence, fewer than 1 in 10 incidents of sexual violence are reported to police. Where there is engagement with the justice system it is usually short-lived. In at least some Australian jurisdictions, between 75-85% of reports to police do not proceed to charge, and even fewer reports proceed to court. Once in court, many people report experiencing the justice system as retraumatising.
The ALRC’s report shines a spotlight on under-engagement with the justice system as the primary issue that needs to be addressed. If people who have experienced sexual violence do not feel sufficiently safe, informed and supported to access and utilise the justice system, the justice system’s critical role in responding to and preventing sexual violence cannot be realised.
ALRC President the Hon Justice Mordy Bromberg has thanked Commission staff and the Commissioners for the Inquiry the Hon Marcia Neave AO and Judge Liesl Kudelka, and welcomed the tabling of the Inquiry’s final report.
Quote from ALRC President the Hon Justice Mordy Bromberg:
“Overwhelmingly, people who have experienced sexual violence do not engage with the justice system for understandable reasons including fear, lack of trust or lack of information and support. The community rightly expects, and the rule of law requires, a justice system that is safe and accessible, yet we heard time and again from people who do not trust the system enough to engage in the first place, or were let down when they did.
This Inquiry provides a critical national and system-wide view of the problems with the justice system’s response to sexual violence, and gives government a detailed roadmap for how to fix it. Our recommendations go to addressing barriers to engagement; increasing system accountability; avoiding retraumatisation; countering myths and misconceptions about sexual violence; and creating new justice options. Importantly, these reforms can be delivered without compromising the fundamental rights of an accused person to a fair trial.
“I acknowledge and welcome the Government’s announcement today of additional funding for measures in line with our report. Implementing the ALRC’s recommendations will better ensure that people who have experienced sexual violence are able to access the justice system in a way that is safe, informed and supported. Implementation will diminish retraumatisation and provide to people who have experienced sexual violence additional justice options that meet their individual needs and interests. The justice system must be reformed if it is to play its critical role in addressing and preventing sexual violence.”
The ALRC’s 64 recommendations would improve the justice system’s response to sexual violence by:
- Addressing barriers for people who have experienced sexual violence to access and engage with the justice system;
- Strengthening the justice system’s accountability and processes, including by avoiding retraumatisation and countering myths and misconceptions about sexual violence; and
- Expanding justice pathways and the remedies available, including through civil and restorative justice pathways.
BACKGROUND
The ALRC’s inquiry was established by the Attorney-General on 23 January 2024.
During the Inquiry, the ALRC received 220 submissions from individuals and organisations, and undertook 126 consultations, involving more than 384 consultees. The Inquiry was also supported by an Australian Government appointed Expert Advisory Group comprised of people with experience of sexual violence and advocates, providing critical input into this complex and sensitive Inquiry.
FURTHER INFORMATION
- Safe, Informed, Supported: Reforming Justice Responses to Sexual Violence
- Inquiry into Justice Responses to Sexual Violence page: www.alrc.gov.au/inquiry/justice-responses-to-sexual-violence/
- Inquiry Terms of Reference: www.alrc.gov.au/inquiry/justice-responses-to-sexual-violence/terms-of-reference/
- Issues Paper: www.alrc.gov.au/publication/jrsv-issues-paper-2024/
- Submissions to the Inquiry: www.alrc.gov.au/inquiry/justice-responses-to-sexual-violence/submissions/
- Q and As about the Report are available here: https://www.alrc.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/JRSV-Final-Report-FAQs.pdf
ENDS
For more information or to request interviews contact:
Jez Hunghanfoo
Director of Communications and Engagement
Australian Law Reform Commission
P: 03 9959 5313
E: comms@alrc.gov.au
The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) has received Terms of Reference from Commonwealth Attorney-General the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP to review Australian human tissue laws. The review is asked to inquire and report on what reforms might be necessary to modernise and harmonise human tissue laws across Australian jurisdictions.
Following the agreement of all Commonwealth, State and Territory Health Ministers to review human tissue laws, the Terms of Reference direct the ALRC to explore matters including:
- Donation, retrieval and transplant of human cells, tissues and organs
- Consent arrangements
- Regulation of ‘schools of anatomy’ and donation for education purposes
- Frameworks across all Australian jurisdictions relating to donation and retrieval of cells, tissues and organs from living and deceased persons
- Cost recovery, financial and other considerations relating to manufacture and provision of tissue
The ALRC is also asked to consider:
- Equity and ethical approaches to improving access to cell, tissue and organ transplantation
- Contemporary and emerging technologies and practices
- International experience and approaches
In welcoming the commencement of the new inquiry, ALRC President the Hon Justice Mordecai Bromberg said:
“I am pleased to lead this Review alongside Commissioner Dr Maeghan Toews, and to consider how to best modernise this highly complex and important area of law. The ALRC first looked at human tissue laws almost 50 years ago, and while social, technological and scientific changes have accelerated since then, human tissue laws have not kept pace.
“The ALRC excels at combining cutting edge legal thinking, expert research, extensive consultation and community engagement. This Review will exemplify the importance and value of the specialised law reform work that the ALRC delivers, ensuring Australian law remains relevant, contemporary, best practice, and responsive to evolving community expectations.
“Commissioner Toews is recognised both in Australia and internationally for her experience and expertise on human tissue laws. I look forward to collaborating with her throughout this Inquiry.”
The Inquiry will commence on 17 February 2025, and the ALRC has been asked to deliver its final report to the Attorney-General by 16 August 2026.
Links
- Review of Human Tissue Laws page: https://www.alrc.gov.au/inquiry/review-of-human-tissue-laws/
- Terms of Reference: https://www.alrc.gov.au/inquiry/review-of-human-tissue-laws/terms-of-reference/
- Further information about the ALRC, its work and leadership: https://www.alrc.gov.au/about/
ENDS
For more information contact:
Jez Hunghanfoo
Director of Communications and Engagement
P: 03 9959 5313
E: comms@alrc.gov.au
W: www.alrc.gov.au
From the ALRC President
Welcome to the latest edition of the ALRC In Brief newsletter. I’m pleased to update you on the work of the ALRC as we approach the end of 2024, and reflect on a dynamic and full year of work for the Commission.
Since my appointment last year, I have been struck by the volume and intensity of work undertaken by the ALRC and its staff. Each Inquiry we receive is a complex project, with hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of consultation, research, consideration, debate and collaboration before we produce our final reports.
We are very fortunate at the ALRC to enjoy contributions and participation in our Inquiries by many gracious individuals and organisations. Experts, leaders, representatives, researchers, those with lived experience and conscientious citizens generously give us their time, wisdom and perspective to better inform our work. This approach of deep engagement and genuine consultation has been an essential ingredient in the work of the two Inquiries that have been our focus this year, the Inquiry into Justice Responses to Sexual Violence and the Review of the Future Acts Regime, and will continue to be for Inquiries to come.
I want to extend my appreciation to all who have contributed to our Inquiries, and supported or followed our work. The ALRC’s efficacy is built on our reputation as an authoritative centre for excellence, and I thank all who have contributed to that effort.
– Mordy Bromberg
The Hon Justice Mordecai Bromberg
President, Australian Law Reform Commission
The Inquiry into Justice Responses to Sexual Violence is nearing its end, with the Inquiry team working to complete the final report. The Inquiry’s final report is due to be submitted to the Commonwealth Attorney-General in late January 2025, and the ALRC is looking forward to providing recommendations for further reform to this crucial area of law, policy and practice. Once our report is submitted to the Attorney-General, it must be tabled in parliament within 15 sitting days, after which it will be released publicly. We will update you when the final report is available to access.
A note that we are continuing to publish submissions made to the Inquiry on the ALRC website. We anticipate that we will soon have published all submissions (that are not confidential and that are appropriate to publish).
The Inquiry team would also like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has contributed and made submissions throughout this year, particularly those with lived experience of sexual violence. We have been privileged to be trusted with your experiences and perspectives, and the Inquiry has benefited enormously from the insightful, constructive and highly personal contributions many people have made.
The Review of the Future Acts Regime has been busy in the final months of 2024, culminating in the Issues Paper published at the end of November. The Issues Paper highlights key themes and areas of focus for the review, and starts a conversation by asking people to let us know their thoughts about the Inquiry.
The team has been engaging with native title holders and stakeholders around Australia, including industry and government. We are very grateful to everyone who has provided us their input so far.
The Issues Paper is available to access now, and you are invited to make a submission in response until 21 February 2025. In this phase of the Inquiry, we are focused on identifying important issues and problems with the regime, and ensuring we have understood and captured them fully, before we move on to proposing solutions and reforms.
Looking ahead to 2025
With 2025 almost upon us, the ALRC is looking forward to another busy year with our current Inquiries progressing, and new Inquiries commencing. In fact, next year is the Commission’s 50th anniversary, and we are excited to be undertaking one of our largest ever programs of work, highlighting our ongoing role as a vital, dynamic and innovative law reform institution.
In addition to our current Inquiries, the ALRC will be commencing work on reviews of surrogacy laws and human tissue laws. The Review of Surrogacy Laws has just been referred to the ALRC by the Attorney-General in early December, and a human tissue laws review has been announced by the Attorney-General with Terms of Reference to come.
The two new Inquiries highlight the breadth and capability of the ALRC to undertake institutional law reform which is at the leading edge of legal thinking, bringing together our ability to blend expertise and broad consultation on issues and areas of law that impact the everyday lives of many Australians.
From the team at the Australian Law Reform Commission, we wish you a safe and restful break, and look forward to updating you on our work in the new year.
The ABC Radio National’s Big Ideas program has published an audio recording of the Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) President, the Hon Justice Mordecai Bromberg, giving the 2024 Higinbotham Lecture at RMIT University in October 2024.
The annual Higinbotham Lecture is one of RMIT’s most prestigious events and celebrates the legacy of Victorian politician and Chief Justice, George Higinbotham, exploring topical legal issues and the interaction between law and society.
In his speech, Justice Bromberg reflects on the challenge of balancing human rights as they intersect and and interact, and discusses the ALRC’s experience in its recent review of religious education institutions and antidiscrimination laws.
You can find the full audio of the lecture on the Big Ideas website.
The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) has received Terms of Reference from Commonwealth Attorney-General the Hon Mark Dreyfus KC MP to review Australian surrogacy laws, policies and practices.
The Terms of Reference direct the ALRC to identify reforms, particularly proposals for uniform or complementary state, territory and Commonwealth laws that:
- are consistent with Australia’s obligations under international law and conventions; and
- protect and promote the human rights of children born as a result of surrogacy arrangements, surrogates and intending parents, noting that the best interests of children are paramount.
In particular, the ALRC is further asked to consider:
- how to reduce barriers to domestic altruistic surrogacy arrangements in Australia, including by ensuring surrogates are adequately reimbursed for legal, medical and other expenses incurred as a consequence of the surrogacy;
- how surrogacy arrangements made outside of Australia should be addressed by Australian law;
- what is the appropriate recognition of legal parentage in Australia for children born of surrogacy overseas, and how may citizenship, visa and passport requirements for children born of surrogacy overseas be aligned;
- the information that should be available to children born from surrogacy arrangements, including what information should be included on a child’s birth certificate in order to meet Australia’s human rights obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
ALRC President the Hon Justice Mordecai Bromberg has welcomed the referral of the new Inquiry:
“The ALRC is pleased to be asked to review this important and complex area of law. Surrogacy in Australia brings together issues of law, medicine, technology, ethics and human rights, and a review of surrogacy laws requires sensitivity, nuance and expertise.
“The ALRC has a strong track record undertaking detailed and comprehensive reviews, and conducting extensive consultation with the community, people with lived experience and experts in the field. We look forward to providing the Attorney-General with evidence-based recommendations for reform.”
The ALRC has been asked to deliver its final report to the Attorney-General by 29 July 2026.
Links
Review of Surrogacy Laws on ALRC website: https://www.alrc.gov.au/inquiry/review-of-surrogacy-laws/
Full Terms of Reference: https://www.alrc.gov.au/inquiry/review-of-surrogacy-laws/terms-of-reference
Further information about the ALRC, its work and leadership: https://www.alrc.gov.au/about/
ENDS
For more information contact:
Jez Hunghanfoo
Director of Communications and Engagement
P: 0436 940 119
E: comms@alrc.gov.au
W: www.alrc.gov.au
