Time for a Government response to Pathways to Justice Report

The Law Council of Australia believes it is time for the Australian Government to take the lead in responding to the Australian Law Reform Commission’s (ALRC) Pathways to Justice–Inquiry into the Incarceration Rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Report.

It has been three years since the Report was tabled and still statistics, showing the disproportionate incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, continue to be alarming despite the majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people never committing a criminal offence.

The ALRC emphasised in 2018 that over-representation in the prison population is a fundamental, persistent, and national problem, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people making up about three per cent of the population but almost 30 per cent of the adult prisoner population. Comprehensive action is needed to avoid repeating past mistakes and instigating future inquiries that investigate the same issues, but to act on the recommendations and conclusions reached. 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. 

• Review of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, Department of Treasury.

Section Submissions

Recently published Section Submissions. 

• Treasury Laws Amendment (Your Future, Your Super) Bill 2021, The Treasury, (Legal Practice Section).
• ‘Modernising Business Communications – Improving the Technology Neutrality of Treasury Portfolio Laws’ issued in December 2020, The Treasury (Business Law Section).
• Productivity Commission – Right to Repair Issues Paper (December 2020), Productivity Commission, (Business Law Section).
• The bankruptcy system and the impacts of coronavirus, Attorney General’s Department, (Business Law Section).

Inquiries and consultations

As of 31 March 2021.

• Establishment of an accreditation system for Children’s Contact Services, Attorney-General's Department.
• Modernising Business Registers (MBR) Program, The Treasury.
• Consultation on Prudential Standard SPS 250 Insurance in Superannuation, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
• Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Amendment (Standards and Assurance) Bill 2021, Parliamentary Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications.
• Breach Reporting Regulations, The Treasury.
• 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).
• 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 into the Framework of Religious Exemptions in Anti-discrimination Legislation, Australian Law Reform Commission.
• Review of the Legislative Framework for Corporations and Financial Services Regulation, Australian Law Reform Commission.
• Australian Heritage Strategy, Department of  Agriculture, Water and the Environment.

• Reforms to Partner visa program, Department of Home Affairs.

• Establishment of an accreditation system for Children’s Contact Services, Attorney-General's Department. 

News and Media 

Media releases and statements: 

• The end of dual regulation for migration lawyers, 22 March 2021. 
• Time for a Government response to Pathways to Justice Report, 25 March 2021.

​Key coverage:

• 'Did you resist?': despite reforms, alleged rape victims still face torment in Australian courts, The Guardian, 30 March 2021. 
• ‘Comprehensive action needed': LCA urges government response to Indigenous incarceration report, Lawyers Weekly, 29 March 2021. 
• Social licence 'has no place' in client choice, Australian Financial Review, 26 March 2021.
• Law firms face regulatory action for sexual harassment with launch of online reporting platforms, Lawyerly, 25 March 2021. 
• Migration lawyers welcome end of dual regulation, Lawyers Weekly, 23 March 2021.