Morag Donaldson explains the welfare jurisdiction of the Family Court by highlighting its historic roots and noting some of the cases in which it has been applied.

In August 2004 Australia's High Court declared by 4:3 that failed asylum seekers who have nowhere to go can be kept in immigration detention indefinitely. In the Al-Khateb and Al Khafaji cases, the majority said that provided the Immigration Minister retained the intention of eventually deporting such people, detention would remain valid. These cases will...

The NSW Youth Drug Court (YDC) pilot program is aimed at reducing offending and drug use amongst young people who have become entrenched in the criminal justice system. Many participants have a range of other difficulties including poor educational achievement, dysfunctional family backgrounds and psychological problems. The YDC attempts to address this wide range of...

Australian governments for the last ten years or more have tried to reduce the use of the Australian court system by people refused the right to stay in this country. Various methods have been tried by governments of both persuasions - with limited success. In this research note Peter Prince focuses on the key method...

When Parliament enacted the Native Title Act 1993 it left fundamental questions to be resolved by the judiciary. High Court decisions in three test cases in 2002 substantially defined the potential of native title. Proceeding on a mistaken view of Parliament's intention, the court confirmed a doctrine of extinguishment highly destructive of the original rights...