The ANU's Brendan McCaffrie discusses a way of removing partisan bias from the formulation of Australia's electoral laws. His proposal for an Independent Electoral Law Committee seeks to remove the partisan influence of the major parties from electoral law-making. Although the major parties may be loath to give up this control, there are international precedents...

In recent years, the Australian Government has committed significant resources to combating trafficking in persons. Within this larger anti-trafficking effort, the community sector, law enforcement, prosecutors, health professionals and members of the community all have an important role to play. As each sector comes to terms with the reality of trafficking in Australia, it is...

This paper looks at recent developments in residential tenancy law in NSW, provides an overview of Residential Tenancy Act, and describes the reforms outlined in the NSW Government’s September 2007 consultation paper, which contains 102 proposals for reforming residential tenancy laws in NSW. Some key proposals include: • Tenants who have been issued with a...

This snapshot presents an overview of Indigenous peoples' experiences of law and justice as reported in the 2002 National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey (NATSISS) as well as data from other relevant ABS collections. Unless otherwise specified, data relate to Indigenous people aged 15 years and over.

Since 1995, there have been a number of significant changes to liquor licensing laws in NSW. These include the harm minimisation and enforcement reforms enacted in 1996, the introduction of nightclub licences in the same year, the introduction of ‘dine or drink’ authorities for restaurants in 1998, and the establishment of compulsory responsible service of...