Recognition of the harm family violence causes and of the need to invest in family violence reforms to assure the future wellbeing and prosperity of all Victorians, resulted in the establishment of this Royal Commission. The report's 227 recommendations are directed at seizing opportunities to transform responses to family violence and building the structures that...

Labor will ensure a more even playing field for private litigants, so that small businesses and their industry representatives can better use existing legislation to prove the abuse of competition under Part IV of the Competition and Consumer Act. Allowing judges in Federal Court to waive liability of adverse costs, private litigants under Part IV...

VCOSS welcomes the opportunity to provide input to the Victorian Government’s Access to Justice Review. Access to justice is fundamental to a fair and inclusive society. Inadequate human rights protection, poor legal services access and inequality before the law can have significant and farreaching impacts for vulnerable Victorians. Access to justice, including a fair hearing...

In September 2011, the author was one of two Federal Court of Australia judges appointed to the Supreme and National Courts of Papua New Guinea (PNG) to sit on civil and commercial appeals. The article provides a personal account of the author’s first year as a member of the PNG judiciary. This was an eventful...

The prevalence and underlying causes of domestic violence are complex with the result that there is a great deal of confusion and misinformation reflected in the public debate. This paper provides information in a simplified format on issues surrounding domestic violence drawing from key research, focusing on Australia. Executive summary