Law Report
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Law Report
From courtroom dramas to miscarriages of justice, to how the law affects you — and so much more. The Law Report is your accessible guide to the big legal stories unfolding in Australia and across the world.
Episodi recenti
257 episodi
High Court lets police access evidence from encrypted app used in global raids
The High Court has unanimously upheld the use of police evidence obtained by monitoring an encrypted messaging app used by organised criminals. The de...
If a self-driving car crashes, who is liable?
As driver assistance technology become more prevalent, a persistent question remains: who is liable in the event of an accident? And looking into a fu...
How should wrongful convictions be compensated?
Queensland man Terry Irving was recently awarded $130,000 in damages for a malicious prosecution over 30 years ago. The Law Report looks at compensati...
Is Australia fulfilling its legal duty to act on climate change? And High Court orders return of Bolivian artefact
How does the recent advisory opinion handed down by the International Court of Justice shape discussions around climate change at the United Nations?...
Fifty years of PNG's independence constitution
Papua New Guinea is celebrating 50 years of independence from Australia. Among the country's historic achievements is the national constitution, creat...
"Your crimes harmed a great many people": Erin Patterson mushroom murder sentence explained
"Your failure to exhibit any remorse pours salt into all the victims' wounds," said Judge Christopher Beale in sentencing Erin Patterson to life in pr...
Dezi Freeman and 'sovereign citizens'
A massive manhunt for alleged police shooter Dezi Freeman is continuing in Victoria's mountainous north east. The 56-year-old, who is accused of killi...
Law Report Special: Linda Reynolds wins defamation battle against Brittany Higgins
Former Coalition Federal Minister Linda Reynolds has won her defamation case against former parliamentary staffer Brittany Higgins.
It has been...
Will 'post and boast' laws stop offenders bragging on social media? Australia tightens vaping regulations
Victoria is the latest jurisdiction to adopt laws that punish offenders who brag about their crimes on social media, as Western Australia considers a...
Nine's victory in Al Muderis defamation case; Legal fight over 'Never Get Busted' director credit
The Nine Network's Federal Court victory over high-profile surgeon Munjed Al Muderis marks the first time a media organisation has defended a defamati...
Record damages in Mad Mex sexual harassment case; Reviewing the legal definition of terrorism
The Federal Court has awarded a record $305,000 in damages to a young woman who was sexually harassed by her employer at a Sydney fast food restaurant...
What are the legal conditions for Palestinian statehood? And electronic wills after Covid
As more countries move towards formal recognition of a Palestinian state, the Law Report examines the conditions for statehood under international law...
Federal Court says Australian women can sue Qatar Airways over airport body searches
The Law Report speaks to one of the Australian women who won the right to sue Qatar Airways after being subjected to invasive searches at a Doha airpo...
ICJ to deliver climate advisory opinion; Denmark's plan to let citizens copyright their face and voice
As the International Court of Justice prepares to deliver a long-awaited climate advisory opinion, the Law Report explores the Federal Court ruling th...
Defining death: ALRC examines laws around human tissue and organs
In Australia, 'what is death' and other legal definitions, such as what constitutes human tissue, have not kept up with advances in medical science an...
AI and automated decision making in government
Robodebt has shown that relying on automated decision making tools can be disastrous. What checks and balances could be developed to guide the safe an...
Law Report Special - Triple mushroom murder: Erin Patterson found guilty
After seven days of deliberation, a jury has found Erin Patterson guilty of murder and attempted murder. The 50-year-old woman was found to have delib...
What happens inside the jury room?
The jury in mushroom cook Erin Patterson’s triple murder trial has retired to deliberate the verdict, guilty or not guilty. But what happens in there...
Could a landmark US Supreme Court ruling expand Trump's powers?
US President Donald Trump has praised a landmark Supreme Court ruling that struck down 'universal injunctions' issued by lower court judges, made in r...
Law Report Special: Antoinette Lattouf v ABC
The Federal Court has ruled that the ABC wrongfully dismissed journalist Antoinette Lattouf for reasons including that she "held a political opinion o...
'Pseudolaw' in the courts: Can you pay a legal debt with an IOU?
Warren Tredrea, a prominent Adelaide football personality who unsuccessfully sued Channel 9 for unfair dismissal, has argued in court that his legal d...
NSW flood insurance crisis; Marking 50 years of Australia's Racial Discrimination Act
Huge property loss is upending the lives of communities in flood-hit parts of New South Wales — what's happening to the rise in insurance claims in ar...
How art is transforming the lives of First Nations prisoners
Can art change lives? Confined 16 is an exhibition in Melbourne of First Nations artists who picked up the paint brush while they were in prison.
The case for stronger whistleblower protections in Australia
The return of high-profile whistleblowing cases to court has renewed calls for legislative reform in Australia to better protect, provide oversight an...
The mushroom murder trial; Tasmanian supermarket sued for banning entry to 'therapy alpaca'
A Victorian woman is on trial accused of poisoning her lunch guests by serving them a meal laced with death cap mushrooms. And a Tasmanian couple bann...
"What's in your drugs?": Pill testing at music events
Does pill testing save lives? Damien Carrick visits a pop-up service at a Melbourne music event where substances are checked, and staff talk to partyg...
Queensland reviews strangulation offence
In 2016, Queensland was the first Australian jurisdiction create a stand-alone offence of non-fatal strangulation. Since then, every other state and t...
Labor's election landslide; How companies use AI tools to disqualify job applicants
What's behind the Labor Party's overwhelming election victory? And can AI-based technology be used to discriminate against job applicants?
How family law courts deal with disputes over gender affirming hormone therapy for children
Two recent court decisions could help shape the debate, and perhaps the law, on when children can be given puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone ther...
Federal Court Chief Justice Debbie Mortimer on open justice in the digital age
The Hon. Debbie Mortimer, Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, joins Damien Carrick in a conversation about live streaming court cases, su...
High Court upholds Queensland's "no body, no parole" laws; Endangered glider possums in court
A Queensland man convicted of murder has failed to convince the High Court to strike out laws that were used to deny him parole for refusing to cooper...
Can Trump's tariffs be challenged in court? Should we ban non-complete clauses?
U.S President Trump's announcement of reciprocal tariffs has sent shockwaves through the world economy, but are these liberation day tariffs constitut...
Trump's war on the US judiciary
The Trump administration's clashes with the US judicial system are escalating, and two federal judges are in the eye of the storm.
Race, language and the Law
An emoji, a protest placard and a tweet by a soccer fan have all led to criminal charges in Britain. Were the prosecutions appropriate?
Supporting survivors of sexual assault in the justice system
How can we improve the experience of survivors of sexual assault in the legal system? The Australian Law Reform Commission has released the findings o...
Do you have a legal right to work from home?
The federal opposition has vowed to roll back remote work entitlements for public servants if it wins the next election — a policy the Labor governmen...
High Court delivers ruling in KMD detention case; Closing arguments heard in Lattouf v ABC trial
What steps does a mentally ill offender have to take to convince authorities they no longer pose a risk to the community or to themselves? And the Fed...
Do expanded federal surveillance laws go too far? And report warns private practitioners abandoning Legal Aid work
To what extent should police be allowed to hack into phones, computers and encrypted communication to counter online crime? And new research says priv...
High Court rules judges can't be sued for damages; Legal rights and wrongs of lookalike products
The High Court has ruled that all judges have immunity from civil action over decisions handed down in court. And how did a Sydney baby food company s...
Australia's new hate crime laws; Criminal defences of sexomnia and parasomnia
Australia's new hate crime laws introduce mandatory sentencing for convictions over public displays of hate symbols and terror-related crimes. And pro...