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.

31.07.2015

Relevant statutory provisions

7.58 A wide range of Commonwealth laws may be seen as interfering with property rights. Some apply to personal property, some to real property, and some to both. Grouped into areas, provisions affecting personal property will be considered under the following headings: banking laws;taxation;personal property securities;intellectual property laws;criminal laws.7.59 These laws are summarised below. Some …

31.07.2015

Justifications for interferences

7.136 The most general justification for laws that interfere with vested property interests is that the interference is necessary and in the public interest.7.137 Protocol 1, Article 1 of the European Convention provides: Every natural or legal person is entitled to the peaceful enjoyment of his possessions. No one shall be deprived of his possessions …

31.07.2015

Conclusions

7.145 A number of Commonwealth laws may be seen as interfering with vested personal property rights. 7.146 In the constitutional context, the central issue is whether the particular interference by Commonwealth laws amounts to an ‘acquisition’ by the Commonwealth other than on just terms under s 51(xxxi) of the Constitution, which may lead to the …

31.07.2015

The common law and private property

7.1 The common law has long regarded a person’s property rights as fundamental. William Blackstone said in 1773: ‘There is nothing which so generally strikes the imagination, and engages the affections of mankind, as the right of property’.[1] In the national consultation on ‘Rights and Responsibilities’, conducted by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in …

31.07.2015

Definitions of property

What is ‘property’?7.11 The idea of property is multi-faceted. The term ‘property’ is used in common and some legal parlance to describe types of property that is both real and personal. ‘Real’ property encompasses interests in land and fixtures or structures upon the land. ‘Personal’ property encompasses tangible or ‘corporeal’ things—chattels or goods. It also …

04.06.2015

Connection to Country: Review of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) (ALRC Report 126)

This Report marks the first major review of ‘connection’ in native title claims—central to native title determinations—since the introduction of the Native Title Act. The Report also examines authorisation of persons bringing native title claims and joinder of parties, and includes 30 recommendations for reform.

03.06.2015

Connection to Country: Review of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) (ALRC 126 Summary)

This Summary Report provides an accessible overview of the policy framework and recommendations in the final Report, Connection to Country: Review of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) (ALRC Report 126), tabled on 4 June 2015.This publication is available for purchase in book format.

13.04.2015

ALRC submission: Proposal for a National Disability Insurance Scheme Quality and Safeguarding Framework

NDIS Quality and SafeguardsPO Box 7576Canberra Business Centre ACT 2610 30 April 2015Dear Sir/Madam,I refer to the invitation for submissions on the Disability Reform Council’s consultation paper Proposal for a National Disability Insurance Scheme Quality and Safeguarding Framework (the consultation paper).The ALRC makes the following submission in response to the consultation paper. The submission draws on …

10.12.2014

Traditional Rights and Freedoms—Encroachments by Commonwealth Laws (IP 46)

The first consultation document in the ALRC’s ‘Freedoms Inquiry’, a review of Commonwealth laws for consistency with traditional rights, freedoms and privileges.

24.11.2014

Equality, Capacity and Disability in Commonwealth Laws (ALRC Report 124)

This Inquiry examined laws and legal frameworks within the Commonwealth jurisdiction that deny or diminish the equal recognition of people with disability as persons before the law and their ability to exercise legal capacity.