Provides a summary of the High Court decision on builders' liability and the stakeholder reaction to it. It also explores the possible relationship between the decision and the amendments to the Home Building Act 1989 which are about to come into force. Introduction On Wednesday 8 October 2014, in Brookfield Multiplex Ltd v Owners Corporation...

This paper summarises the contentious issue of anti-gang legislation and whether it contravenes the implied freedom of political communication under the Commonwealth Constitution. Introduction On 8 October 2014 the High Court handed down its decision in Tajjour v NSW [2014] HCA 35 ( Tajjour) in which the offence of consorting in s 93X of the...

Examines how community-based order conditions were used in the Magistrates’ Court between July 2007 and June 2009 and how offender and offence characteristics differ for offenders who did and did not receive supervision. Executive summary This report examines the relationship between conditions imposed on offenders as part of a community-based sentence and subsequent reoffending. Specifically...

This study finds that although suspended sentences were introduced as an alternative to prison, in New South Wales they appear to have had the opposite effect. Abstract Aim: To see whether the introduction of suspended sentences reduced the number of offenders receiving a fulltime sentence of imprisonment. Method: The number of persons receiving a prison...

Examines factors associated with early, late, and not guilty pleas in the District Court of NSW. Introduction There are well established practical, financial and emotional benefits of obtaining guilty pleas early in criminal proceedings. While criminal proceedings in NSW are most commonly resolved by a guilty plea (e.g., in 2012, 82% of criminal matters proved...