Publications

The ALRC produces a range of publications including:

Inquiry Reports,
Consultation Documentation,
Information sheets, and
Reform Journal

The ALRC is committed to improving public access to its work and all past reports and recent consultation papers are available for free viewing and download via this website.

Some publications are available in book format for purchase.

15.05.1992

Choice of Law (ALRC Report 58)

ALRC Report 58 (tabled May 1992) examined existing rules governing choice of law and procedure in federal and territory courts and considered whether reform was necessary to make these rules adequate and appropriate to modern circumstances.Choice of Law (ALRC Report 58) outlined constitutional restraints, cross vesting rules, inappropriateness of forum law rules, uncertainty issues and …

28.04.1992

Collective Investments: Superannuation (ALRC Report 59)

ALRC Report 59 (tabled 28 April 1992) identified two means of government intervention to ensure retirement savings in superannuation were protected—requiring superannuation schemes to insure against the risk of failure; and prescribing measures to reduce liquidity and institution risk.The report reflected that prudential supervision was an acceptable way of intervening in the market. Collective Investments: …

14.04.1992

Multiculturalism and the Law (ALRC Report 57)

ALRC Report 57 (tabled April 1992) examined the principles underlying Australian family law, criminal law and contract law and the ways disputes about them are resolved, to see if they take enough account of the cultural diversity of Australian society.The report reviewed the extent to which the law recognises, accommodates, respects and protects the rights …

11.09.1991

Censorship Procedure (ALRC Report 55)

ALRC Report 55 (tabled 11 September 1991) outlined how the laws relating to the censorship and classification of film and printed matter for public exhibition, sale or hire could be simplified and made more uniform and efficient while still giving effect to the policy agreed between the Commonwealth, the States and the Northern Territory. View …

14.11.1990

Criminal Admiralty Jurisdiction and Prize (ALRC Report 48)

ALRC Report 48 (tabled November 1990), the second report into admiralty jurisdiction, identified that the existing jurisdiction of Australian courts over offences committed at sea had two main sources—Imperial Admiralty legislation and modern Commonwealth or state legislation. Criminal Admiralty Jurisdiction and Prize (ALRC Report 48) found that this combination of sources had resulted in laws …

14.12.1989

Guardianship and Management of Property (ALRC Report 52)

ALRC Report 52 (tabled December 1989) considered the difference between management of property and guardianship and highlighted many procedural defects, which were expensive and insensitive, particularly in the application of guardians or managers of property. Guardianship and Management of Property (ALRC Report 52) found many substantive defects in the law as the Lunacy Act 1898 …

14.11.1989

Informed Decisions in Medical Procedures (ALRC Report 50)

ALRC Report 50 (released November 1989) was commissioned in response to the growing trend of patients assuming greater involvement in decisions regarding their treatment. If patients’ expectations that they will be adequately informed are not met, legal action against medical practitioners may result. The scope of Informed Decisions in Medical Procedures (ALRC Report 50) was …

15.08.1989

Product Liability (ALRC Report 51)

ALRC Report 51 was tabled on 15 August 1989. The terms of reference required the Commission to focus on a particular area of product liability: situations in which the product itself played a crucial role in causing the injury or loss to the consumer or a member of the community. The reference considered only the …

06.04.1989

Enduring Powers of Attorney (ALRC Report 47)

ALRC Report 47 (tabled 6 April 1989) outlined powers of attorney in the context of the management of an infirm person’s property.The report found that the existing law in the Australian Capital Territory was inadequate as a power of attorney lapsed once the person who granted it became legally incapacitated. Through identifying a number of …

14.12.1988

Grouped Proceedings in the Federal Court (ALRC Report 46)

ALRC Report 46 (tabled December 1988) reported that the high cost of legal proceedings effectively prevented individuals and businesses who had suffered significant but small losses from claiming compensation for those losses.ALRC Report 46 concluded that a new grouping procedure had a number of advantages including cost effective enforcement of rights and consistency of determinations.View …