Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody requires urgent action 30 years on

The Law Council of Australia is calling for a comprehensive national response to address the vastly disproportionate imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, 30 years on from the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC).

In 1991, the Royal Commission concluded: “The conclusions are clear. Aboriginal people die in custody at a rate relative to their proportion of the whole population which is totally unacceptable and which would not be tolerated if it occurred in the non-Aboriginal community. This occurred because “too many Aboriginal people are in custody too often.”

Yet in December 2020, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander imprisonment rate was 2,333 persons per 100,000 adult Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, compared to the imprisonment rate of 208 persons per 100,000 adult population generally. Read more.

2021 Scholarships & Baxt Prize applications now open

The Business Law Section is pleased to announce applications for its three scholarships and Baxt Prize are now open, further information about the Scholarships and Prize is available below.

• Gaire Blunt Scholarship
• Forsyth Pose Scholarship
• Santow Scholarship
• Baxt Prize

Applications must be submitted on an official application form obtained online. Please submit applications to the BLS Administrator, Jessica Morrow, via email.

Applications and papers must be received by 5pm, 31 August 2021 AEST.

LCA Submissions

Recently published Law Council Submissions. 

• Supplementary submission: Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2020, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security. 
• Supplementary submission: Climate Change (National Framework for Adaptation and Mitigation) Bill 2020 and Climate Change (National Framework for Adaptation and Mitigation) (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2020, House of Representatives Standing Committee on the Environment and Energy. 

Section Submissions

Recently published Section Submissions. 

• Exposure Draft Consultation on Unlawful Activity – Changes to the Governance Standards for Registered Charities, Treasury, (Legal Practice Section).
• Modernising Business Registers (MBR) Program, Treasury, (Business Law Section).
• Breach Reporting Regulations, Treasury, (Business Law Section).

Inquiries and consultations

As of  9 April 2021. 

• 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.
• Review of Model Defamation Provisions – Stage 2: Discussion Paper, Attorneys-General.
• Review of direct cross-examination ban - Family Law Act 1975, Attorney-General's Department.
• Developing the next National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children, Department of Social Services.
• Breach Reporting Regulations, The Treasury.
• Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Standards and Assurance) Bill 2021, Parliamentary Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications.
• Draft Practical Compliance Guideline PCG 2021/D2 Allocation of procession firm profits – ATO compliance approach, Australian Taxation Office.
• Operation of the Australian Crime Commission Amendment (Special Operations and Special Investigations) Act 2019, Parliamentary Joint Committee on Law Enforcement.
• 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).
• Establishment of an accreditation system for Children’s Contact Services, Attorney-General's Department.
• Enhance and Enable - Indigenous Knowledge Consultations 2021, IP Australia.
• Review of Judicial Impartiality, Australian Law Reform Commission.
• 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.

News and Media 

Media releases and statements: 

• Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody requires urgent action 30 years on, 14 April 2021. 
• Government recognises need for cultural change to sexual harassment laws, 8 April 2021.
• Law Council welcomes Court appointments, 6 April 2021. 
• A national response to family, domestic and sexual violence is needed, 6 April 2021. 

​Key coverage:

• Lack of funding leaves Australian parents waiting months to see their children on supervised visits, The Guardian, 12 April 2021. 
• Legal profession welcomes ‘overdue' workplace sexual harassment update, Lawyers Weekly, 12 April 2021.
• Her babies taken, this Indigenous woman died alone in a police cell — the victim of a problem Australia can't seem to fix, CNN, 10 April 2021. 
• Judges back end to complaint exemption, Australian Financial Review, 9 April 2021. 
• High Court in health and safety spotlight, The Australian, 8 April 2021. 
• ‘Not enough': Court funding ignored in domestic violence recommendations, Lawyers Weekly, 8 April 2021. 
• Women's cabinet taskforce discusses 'practical' budget measures in first meeting, The Guardian, 6 April 2021. 

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