Seen and heard: priority for children in the legal process (ALRC Report 84)
ALRC Report 84 was tabled on 19 November 1997. The report calls for widespread reform to Australia’s child protection, education and legal systems to ensure children’s appropriate participation in decision making concerning them.ALRC 84 provides extensive evidence of the problems and neglect of children who come into contact with federal and State legal processes. It …
Publications
Read moreChildren in the legal process
This inquiry into the way children and young people are treated by the legal system and legal processes began on 28 August 1995. This was a joint inquiry conducted by the ALRC in conjunction with the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC).Seen and heard: priority for children in the legal process (ALRC Report 84) …
Inquiries
Read moreSpeaking for Ourselves: Children and the Legal Process – Kids Issues Paper (IP 17)
IP 17 (released in 1996) is the first of two Issues Papers produced during this inquiry. The inquiry into the way children and young people are treated by the legal system and legal processes began on 28 August 1995. This was a joint inquiry conducted by the ALRC in conjunction with the Human Rights and …
Publications
Read moreContact cases and the Family Court
The ALRC was asked by the Family Law Council to join it in researching legal aid costs and related issues in repetitive access applications coming before the Family Court. The ALRC officially received a reference on the issue in May 1993.One of the purposes of the reference was to determine and assess the disproportionate use …
Inquiries
Read moreFor the Sake of the Kids: Complex Contact Cases and the Family Court (ALRC Report 73)
The Australian Law Reform Commission was asked by the Family Law Council to join it in researching legal aid costs and related issues in repetitive access applications coming before the Family Court. The ALRC’s work on the project was published independently as ALRC Report 73 (tabled June 1995).The research for the report encompasses a survey …
Publications
Read moreEquality before the Law: Women’s Equality (ALRC Report 69 Part 2)
ALRC Report 69 (Part 2) was tabled 21 December 1994. Part 2 of the report is about the architecture of the legal system, that is, the specific laws and practices that contribute to women’s inequality.Equality before the Law: Women’s Equality provides an overview of areas of substantive law in which gender bias is evident. The …
Publications
Read moreEquality before the law
The ALRC took the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) as its starting point.The ALRC inquiry found the legal system failed women in five key areas by:leaving them in the dark—women often have difficulty finding relevant information;brutalising the victim—even when women are aware of their rights, they often find …
Inquiries
Read moreEquality before the Law – Interim Report (ALRC Report 67)
In its interim report (tabled 3 March 1994), the ALRC recommended the immediate establishment of a National Women’s Justice Program (NWJP) to address women’s needs for access to justice. View Equality before the Law – Interim Report (ALRC Report 67) on the AustLII website.
Publications
Read moreChildren’s Evidence: Closed Circuit TV
In 1988, at the suggestion of the then Australian Capital Territory Chief Magistrate, Mr Ron Cahill, the federal Attorney-General agreed that the Australian Law Reform Commission and the ACT Magistrates Court should examine the use of closed circuit television for children who give evidence in court. The evaluation study aimed to assess: whether closed circuit …
Inquiries
Read moreChildren’s Evidence: Closed Circuit TV (ALRC Report 63)
ALRC Report 63 (tabled 1993) evaluates a 12-month trial period using closed circuit television in the ACT Magistrates Court, Children’s Court and Coroner’s Court. The evaluation study aimed to assess: whether closed circuit TV reduces the stress of testifying for child witnesses both for its own sake and in order to improve the quality of …
Publications
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