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.

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 …

14.12.1988

Grouped Proceedings in the Federal Court (ALRC Report 46 Summary)

This is a Summary of ALRC Report 46 (tabled December 1988).View ALRC Report 46 Summary in HTMLon the AustLII website.

13.12.1988

General Insolvency Inquiry (ALRC Report 45)

ALRC Report 45 (tabled 13 December 1988) examined the developments of overseas jurisdictions in relation to insolvency and identified that existing forms of voluntary administration were unnecessarily complex, confusing and uncoordinated.View ALRC Report 45 in HTMLon the AustLII website.The PDF download, below, is a Summary of ALRC Report 45. The full report comprises two volumes …

25.08.1988

Sentencing (ALRC Report 44)

ALRC Report 44 (tabled March 1988) represented the ALRC’s final work on the reference given to the Commission in 1978 and examined the sentencing and punishment of both federal and ACT offenders. The report examined the public concern that existed about inconsistency in sentencing and the difference between the term of imprisonment imposed by the …

14.04.1988

Occupiers’ Liability (ALRC Report 42)

ALRC Report 42 (tabled April 1988) represents the third of three reports in the Community Law Reform Program for the Australian Capital Territory.At the time of the inquiry into occupiers’ liability, the common law on this subject was excessively technical and lacked uniformity. The outcome of a case would depend on the relationship between the …

14.03.1988

The Commonwealth Prisoners Act (Interim report) (ALRC Report 43)

The Attorney-General specifically asked the Commission to give an interim report on the anomalies present in the law governing parole and release before its final report was completed. It is this aspect of the subject that forms the basis of ALRC Report 43 (tabled March 1988).View ALRC Report 43 in HTMLon the AustLII website.

14.12.1987

Service and Execution of Process (ALRC Report 40)

The Commission was directed to review the process by which documents involved in legal proceedings are formally given to another person. ALRC Report 40 was tabled December 1987.View ALRC Report 40 in HTMLon the AustLII website.

21.10.1987

Debt Recovery and Insolvency (ALRC Report 36)

ALRC Report 36 (tabled 21 October 1987) arose from the same reference as Insolvency: The Regular Payment of Debts (ALRC Report 6). During its work on the first report, the Commission identified that judgment debt recovery procedures in the States and Territories could contribute to worsening insolvency. Accordingly, the Commission investigated these procedures more fully in ALRC …

16.09.1987

Matrimonial Property (ALRC Report 39)

ALRC Report 39 (tabled December 1987) examined Australian community attitudes to questions of matrimonial property law.The emphasis was on assessing the contributions of the spouses to property and welfare of the family, which was impractical and inappropriate, especially with regard to superannuation benefits.View ALRC Report 39 in HTMLon the AustLII website.