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 …
News/Media Release
Read moreALRC to tackle government secrecy laws
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 secrecy provisions in federal legislation. The Terms of Reference ask the ALRC to focus on: ‘the importance of balancing the need to protect Commonwealth information and …
News/Media Release
Read moreFighting Words: A Review of Sedition Laws in Australia (ALRC Report 104)
ALRC Report 104 (tabled 13 December 2006) is the final report of the ALRC’s Inquiry into sedition offences contained in the Commonwealth Criminal Code and related offences in Part IIA of the Crimes Act 1914 (Cth).Historically, sedition law has been used to suppress political dissent, punishing speech that is critical of the established order. Stakeholders, …
Publications
Read morePrivacy law and practice
This 28-month inquiry looked at the extent to which the Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) and related laws continue to provide an effective framework for the protection of privacy in Australia. It resulted in the Final Report, For Your Information: Australian Privacy Law and Practice (ALRC Report 108).During the ALRC’s extensive consultations around the country, the …
Inquiries
Read moreKeeping Secrets: The Protection of Classified and Security Sensitive Information (ALRC Report 98)
ALRC Report 98 was tabled in federal Parliament on 23 June 2004. This inquiry examined measures to safeguard classified and security sensitive information during court or tribunal proceedings, or in the course of other investigations—including those relating to criminal prosecutions, civil suits, immigration matters or freedom of information applications.View ALRC Report 98 in HTML on the …
Publications
Read moreProtection of Classified and Security Sensitive Information
This inquiry, which began in April 2003, examined measures to safeguard classified and security sensitive information during court or tribunal proceedings, or in the course of other investigations—including those relating to criminal prosecutions, civil suits, immigration matters or freedom of information applications.Cases involving espionage, terrorism and the leaking or misuse of national security information have …
Inquiries
Read moreProtecting Classified and Security Sensitive Information (DP 67)
Protecting Classified and Security Sensitive Information (DP 67), which inlcuded proposals for reform, was released in January 2004, the second of two consultation documents produced during the inquiry.View DP 67 in HTML on the AustLII website
Publications
Read moreProtecting of Classified and Security Sensitive Information (BP 8)
In July 2003, the ALRC released background paper BP 8, which outlined the issues under consideration. View BP 8 in HTML on the AustLII webiste.
Publications
Read moreProtection of human genetic information
The terms of reference directed the ALRC and the Australian Health Ethics Committee (AHEC) to consider, with respect to human genetic information and the samples from which such information is derived, how best to:protect privacy;protect against unfair discrimination; andensure the highest ethical standards in research and practice.The experience of the inquiry, mirrored overseas, is that …
Inquiries
Read moreOpen Government – A Review of the Federal Freedom of Information Act 1982 (ALRC Report 77)
The ALRC began this joint reference with the Administrative Review Council in July 1994. ALRC Report 77 was tabled in January 1996.The principal purpose of the review was to determine whether the FOI Act had achieved the purposes and objectives it was designed to achieve and, if it had not, to recommend changes to improve …
Publications
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