The ALRC was asked to identify and critically examine Commonwealth laws that encroach upon traditional rights, freedoms and privileges recognised by the common law. In this Report, the ALRC discusses the source and rationale of many important rights and freedoms and provides an extensive survey of current Commonwealth laws that limit them. The ALRC also...

Introduction This paper provides a chronology that draws on ministerial press statements to trace changes in Australia’s immigration policy in relation to overseas students between 1997 and June 2015. Immigration policies introduced in this period fundamentally changed the nature of migration to Australia. Policy changes in this period were pivotal in facilitating the rapid growth...

Executive summary The enduring success of Australia’s democracy rests on many vital foundations including a free press, informed and diverse debate, the rule of law, free and fair elections, active civil society and the checks and balances provided by courts and other institutions. Yet, despite Australia’s strong democratic history, there is a clear and disturbing...

The United Nations Association of Australia has released its position statement on Australia's Candidacy for the Human Rights Council. The position statement reflects positively on Australia’s former contribution to human rights, noting with concern the recent and serious decline in Australia’s human rights standing. Highlighting the obligations incumbent on Human Rights Council Member States, the...

This paper seeks to lay out the evidence for and against increasing the rate and broadening the base of the GST in terms of the GST’s relative efficiency, equity and revenue raising capacity. Overview The Commonwealth Government has run underlying structural deficits for 8 years and the outlook remains rather pessimistic in terms of revenue...