In 2005 the author was employed as a youth worker in a remote Northern Territory community. In this paper she makes observations about the level of disadvantage evident in the community. She describes the early life experiences and health status of the community, and problems such as substance misuse and involvement with the criminal justice...

This House Standing Committee report investigates the lack of harmonisation within Australia’s legal system, and between the legal systems of Australia and New Zealand, with particular reference to differences that have an impact on trade and commerce.

Specialty courts are a response of the criminal justice system to specific problem behaviours and associated issues, such as drug use or domestic violence. Jason Payne examines the history and development of the specialty court concept in Australia. It shows that the programs, although having the same overall aim of reducing reoffending, have significantly different...

Andrew Lynch tests the assumption that constitutional cases generally produce a heightened level of disagreement among members of the High Court. He finds that although the court decides a higher percentage of constitutional cases over dissenting opinions than it does overall, there is not enough evidence to confirm that the Justices simply disagree per se...

In November 2005, the NSW Attorney General announced that the government would introduce majority verdicts of 11:1 for criminal trials. If the proposed measures pass into legislation, majority verdicts would be available for all criminal offences, provided a minimum deliberation period has passed. Talina Drabsch examines the arguments for and against this change in the...