Caution recommended over criminalisation

Appearing at the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security’s (PJCIS) public hearing into extremist movements and radicalisation in Australia, the Law Council of Australia urged the committee to be cautious in scrutinising the case for extending criminal laws to deal with the evolving threat presented by extremist groups.

Speaking on behalf of the Law Council, Co-Chair of the National Criminal Law Committee, Mr Richard Wilson SC, said that the Law Council’s submission highlighted guiding policy principles that the committee may wish to utilise when assessing the necessity and proportionality of any proposals to create new offences, or to widen the criteria for listing terrorist organisations. Read more.

Indigenous justice announcements welcome, but funding for multi-faceted response needed
Announcements by the Australian Government and the Opposition aimed at addressing the systemic disadvantage experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the justice system have been welcomed by the Law Council of Australia on the thirtieth anniversary of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. Read more.

Public consultation - Rule 42 of the Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules
The LCA's public consultation on Rule 42 of the Australian Solicitors’ Conduct Rules is closing soon. Comments and submissions are due by 7 May 2021. For more information visit the LCA website.

Guidance: Update on AGMs, electronic document execution and digital shareholder communications
As a joint initiative by the Governance Institute of Australia, Australian Institute of Company Directors, Australasian Investor Relations Association and the Business Law Section of the Law Council of Australia, a new guidance has been released.

Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2021/D2: Allocation of professional firm profits – ATO compliance approach
The Business Law Section's Taxation Committee provided a submission to the Australian Taxation Office in response to the draft PCG 2021/D2 Allocation of professional firm profits – ATO compliance approach. Read the submission here.

Reforms to Partner Visa Programs
The Federal Litigation and Dispute Resolution Section's Migration Law Committee provided a submission to the Department of Home Affairs in response to reforms to Partner Visa Program. The committee supports the Australian Government’s intent to implement reforms to strengthen the integration of applicants into the community, support vulnerable applicants and give them an opportunity to successfully interact in the community. However, the committee is of the view that functional English as currently defined in the visa context does not achieve the desired outcomes of social cohesion. Read the submission here.

LCA Submissions

Recently published Law Council Submissions.

Inquiry on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Standards and Assurance) Bill 2021, Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee.
Inquiry on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Standards and Assurance) Bill 2021, Senate Environment and Communications Legislation Committee.
Review of the National Emergency Declaration Act 2020, Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee.
Inquiry into extremist movements and radicalism in Australia, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.
Supplementary submission: Data Availability and Transparency Bill 2020 and Data Availability and Transparency (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2020, Senate Finance and Public Administration Legislation Committee.

Section Submissions

Recently published Section Submissions.

Reforms to Partner Visa Programs, Department of Home Affairs, (Federal Litigation and Dispute Resolution Section).
Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2021/D2: Allocation of professional firm profits – ATO compliance approach, Australian Taxation Office, (Business Law Section).
Timeliness of processes under the National Access Regime, Treasury, (Business Law Section).

Inquiries and consultations

As of 28 April 2021.

Supporting older Australians - exempting granny flat arrangements from Capital Gains Tax (CGT), The Treasury.
Regulator Performance Guide, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.
National Register of Enduring Powers of Attorney, Attorney-General's Department.
Indigenous Voice Co-Design Process, National Indigenous Australians Agency.
The efficacy, fairness, timeliness and costs of the processing and granting of visa classes which provide for or allow for family and partner reunions, Parliamentary Senate Standing Committees on Legal and Constitutional Affairs.
The operation of section 22 of the National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) ACT 2004 (Cth) as it applies in the 'Alan Johns' matter (a pseudonym), Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (INSLM).
Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Review, Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources.
ParentsNext: examination of Social Security (Parenting payment participation requirements - class of persons) instrument 2021, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Human Rights.
Native Title Report 2021, Australian Human Rights Commission.
Establishment of an accreditation system for Children’s Contact Services, Attorney-General's Department.
Review of Model Defamation Provisions – Stage 2: Discussion Paper, Attorneys-General.
Enhance and Enable - Indigenous Knowledge Consultations 2021, IP Australia.
Review of direct cross-examination ban - Family Law Act 1975, Attorney-General's Department.
Review of Judicial Impartiality, Australian Law Reform Commission.
Developing the next National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, Department of Social Services.
Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, Royal Commission.
Review of the Legislative Framework for Corporations and Financial Services Regulation, Australian Law Reform Commission.
Consequential amendments to small business insolvency reforms, The Treasury.

News and Media

Media releases/statements:

Indigenous justice announcements welcome, but funding for multi-faceted response needed, 15 April 2021.
Ombudsman finds AFP oversteps the mark, 28 April 2021.
Caution recommended over criminalisation, 30 April 2021.

Key coverage:

Australia's Sex Discrimination Act will soon apply to politicians. Why didn't it before?, CNN, 8 April 2021.
Push to lift age bar on crime, The Australian, 15 April 2021.
‘Clear and blatant’: the breaches of the Family Law Act that often come with no consequences, The Guardian, 15 April 2021.
LCA and ABA pair up to condemn violence towards Myanmar lawyers, Lawyers Weekly, 15 April 2021.
‘Time for talking is over': Legal profession responds to deaths in custody report, Lawyers Weekly, 19 April 2021.
‘Indigenous deaths in custody deserves multifaceted response’, National Indigenous Times, 22 April 2021.

Events

Australian Law Reform Commission
Financial Services Webinars

The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) invites you to attend two upcoming webinars.

These free, interactive webinars presented in partnership with Wolters Kluwer CCH Learning are part of the ALRC’s current inquiry into the potential simplification of corporate and financial services regulation in Australia.

Webinar: The Regulatory Ecosystem for Financial Services in Australia
Monday 17 May 2021 at 1.00PM AEST

Can Australian financial services regulation be simplified? Join the ALRC to explore the initial findings of its current inquiry. This 90 minute webinar will explore the ALRC’s preliminary findings on the regulatory framework for corporations and financial services in Australia.
Webinar: Comparative Perspectives on Financial Services Regulation
Monday 24 May 2021 at 5.00PM AEST
3.00PM SGT | 7.00PM NZST | 8.00AM BST | 3.00PM HKT

Join a panel of international experts to compare approaches to the design of financial services regulation across different jurisdictions.

In line with the initial focus of the ALRC’s inquiry, this 90 minute webinar will include discussion of how key terms and concepts, such as financial products and services, are defined and delineated for the purposes of corporate and financial services regulation in different jurisdictions.

Upcoming Events

May 2021

5 May 2021 - Global Business and Talent Attraction Webinar
Host: Federal Litigation and Dispute Resolution Section
Time: 2.00PM - 3.30PM
Format: Zoom webinar

August 2021

10 August 2021 - 2021 Mahla Pearlman Oration
Host: Legal Practice Section and the Environment and Planning Law Association of New South Wales
Location: Federal Court of Australia, Sydney
Time: 5.00PM - 7.00PM