Introduction

1.1 The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) has a proud record of achievement. In 1994, in a review of the role and function of the ALRC, the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs recognised and recommended the continuance of the ALRC’s ‘high quality, well researched and well documented reports’.[1]

1.2 The ALRC welcomes the opportunity to participate in this Inquiry, and acknowledges the important contribution of the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs (the Committee) to the continuous improvement of institutional law reform in Australia. Periodic reviews, such as this Inquiry, provide a valuable opportunity to reflect on the contribution that independent law reform institutions such as the ALRC have made—and can continue to make—to government and the broader community.

1.3 The Committee’s Inquiry is timely. It has been 17 years since the last major Parliamentary review of the role and functions of the ALRC.[2] Moreover, a re-examination of the value of independent law reform bodies, such as the ALRC, is particularly pertinent at this time of diminishing funding. In the context of the Australian Government’s current agenda of public administration reforms,[3] this Inquiry provides an opportunity for constructive discussion about how the ALRC can maintain and enhance its strategic policy capability to:

  •  support government;
  • foster community discussion and debate about the development of Australian law and legal processes; and
  • meet emerging and future challenges, both domestic and global.[4]

 

[1] House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs—Parliament of Australia, Law Reform—the Challenge Continues: a Report on the Inquiry into the Role and Function of the Law Reform Commission of Australia (1994), Rec 3.

[2] House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs—Parliament of Australia, Law Reform—the Challenge Continues: a Report on the Inquiry into the Role and Function of the Law Reform Commission of Australia (1994). See also: Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs—Parliament of Australia, Powers and Functions of the Australian Law Reform Commission: Final Report (2004); Senate Privileges Committee—Parliament of Australia, Possible Improper Interference with a Potential Witness Before the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Native Title and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Fund, 73rd Report (1998); and Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs—Parliament of Australia, Processing of Law Reform Proposals in Australia—Reforming the Law (1979).

[3] Advisory Group on the Reform of Australian Government Administration, Ahead of the Game: A Blueprint for the Reform of Australian Government Administration (2010).

[4] Relevant challenges are identified in Ibid, 8–12, some of which are discussed further below.