From secrecy to open government
Secrecy and government2.4 The secrecy of government information has a long history. As Professor Enid Campbell has explained, the notion that the activities of government should be secret goes back to a period when monarchs were motivated by a desire to protect themselves against their rivals and official information was considered the property of the …
Publications
Read moreCurrent trends in open government
FOI reforms2.21 At the time of writing, the FOI Act is the subject of a proposed reform package based on a commitment by the Australian Government to ‘undertake the most significant overhaul of the FOI Act since its inception in 1982’.[30] The package includes the Freedom of Information (Removal of Conclusive Certificates and Other Measures) …
Publications
Read moreALRC President, Professor Rosalind Croucher, awarded the Order of Australia
Professor Rosalind Croucher, BA(Hons) LLB PhD AMusA ACLM (Hon) FRSA FAAL TEP, President of the Australian Law Reform Commission, has been conferred the award of Member of the Order of Australia for “significant service to the law as an academic, to legal reform and education, to professional development, and to the arts”. The Order of Australia …
News/Media Release
Read moreTerms of Reference
Review of Commonwealth Laws for Consistency with Traditional Rights, Freedoms and PrivilegesI, Senator the Hon George Brandis QC, Attorney-General of Australia, having regard to the rights, freedoms and privileges recognised by the common law,REFER to the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) for inquiry and report pursuant to section 20(1) of the Australian Law Reform Commission …
Publications
Read moreAppendix M: ALRC Multicultural Plan report for 2013–14
1. LeadershipMinimum obligations1.1 Executive accountability—Agency to assign a Senior Executive Officer to be responsible for implementation of Multicultural Access and Equity obligations in the agency.1.2 Agency commitment—Agency leadership to ensure that staff understand and are committed to Multicultural Access and Equity implementation. Action ResponsibilityTimeline TargetReport1.1Executive accountability The ALRC President has committed to this AMP and has appointed …
Publications
Read moreAppendix C: Terms of Reference 2013–14
Copyright and the digital economyHaving regard to:the objective of copyright law in providing an incentive to create and disseminate original copyright materials;the general interest of Australians to access, use and interact with content in the advancement of education, research and culture;the importance of the digital economy and the opportunities for innovation leading to national economic …
Publications
Read moreTerms of Reference
Review of The Native Title Act 1993I, Mark Dreyfus QC MP, Attorney-General of Australia, having regard to:the 20 years of operation of the Native Title Act 1993 (the Act)the importance of the recognition and protection of native title to Indigenous Australians and the broader Australian communitythe importance of certainty as to the relationship between native …
Publications
Read moreNotes
Notes to and forming part of the financial statements for the year ended 30 june 2014Table of Contents-Notes Note 1: Summary of Significant Accounting PoliciesNote 2: Events after the Reporting PeriodNote 3: ExpensesNote 4: Own-Source IncomeNote 5: Fair Value MeasurementsNote 6: Financial AssetsNote 7: Non-Financial AssetsNote 8: PayablesNote 9: ProvisionsNote 10: Cash Flow ReconciliationNote 11: Senior …
Publications
Read moreAdditional performance indicators
Participation in external inquiriesOften through its inquiry work the ALRC has already conducted valuable research into areas of law or legal processes that become subject to review by other agencies or Parliamentary Committees. Where appropriate and relevant, the ALRC provides briefings or written submissions to Parliamentary Committees, Ministers, government departments, and other bodies. In this …
Publications
Read morePresident’s overview
It is with great pleasure that I present the ALRC’s Annual Report for 2013–14, my fifth as ALRC President. The ALRC has continued to be a highly productive and responsive law reform agency, working on five inquiries in areas of key concern to the community at this time: Copyright, Disability, Native Title, Privacy and Traditional …
Publications
Read more