New Law Reform documents

What's new

The Federation and its working groups and members regularly produce submissions, reports, reviews and discussion papers in relation to law reform issues.

The following documents outline some of the Federation’s current law reform work:

• Assisted Reproductive Treatment Bill Support Letter to members of the Victorian Legislative Council (October 2008, PDF, 191KB)
  We believe that present Victorian law concerning access to assisted reproductive technology, parentage and surrogacy is discriminatory (including contravening federal discrimination law) and out of step with the reality of modern families today.
• Submission to Parliament of Victoria Law Reform Committee Inquiry into Vexatious Litigants (July 2008, PDF, 119KB)
  The Federation is concerned that there should not be a legislative over-reaction to the issue, especially given the risk that such legislation can be used to silence unpopular people and causes.
  
• Reform to the Vicarious Liability of Victoria Police for Wrongs Committed by Police Officers (June 2008, PDF, 216KB)
  A submission to the Victorian Minister for Police and Emergency Services. The submission urges amendment of the Police Regulation Act 1958 (Vic) so that the State is liable for all legal wrongs committed by Victorian police officers in the execution or purported execution of their duties. This would bring Victoria into line with most other Australian jurisdictions.
  
• Driving Whilst Disqualified or Suspended - Submission to the Sentencing Advisory Council (May 2008, PDF, 70KB)
  The Federation supports the restoration of judicial discretion in sentencing for driving whilst disqualified or suspended.
  
• Submission to the Attorney-General of Victoria Justice Statement 2008 (May 2008, PDF, 77KB)
  The Federation's final submission to the Attorney-General’s Justice Statement 2008, presenting ideas which will hopefully influence the development of Victoria’s justice system in the years to come.
  
• Victorian Family Violence Justice Reform Campaign – Comments on Draft Family Violence Bill (May 2008, PDF, 97KB)
  Draft Family Violence Bill, feedback as a member of the Victorian Family Violence Justice Reform Campaign.
  
• Victorian Family Violence Justice Reform Campaign – Letter on Draft Family Violence Bill (May 2008, PDF, 137KB)
  As part of the second consultation process on the draft Family Violence Bill, the Campaign congratulates the Department of Justice and the Victorian Government on the significant reforms embodied in the draft. The Campaign suggests further improvements to the carers’ provisions, and stresses the need for education and training of professionals working across the family violence justice response.
  
• Review of the Exceptions and Exemptions in the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (Victoria) (April 2008, PDF, 139KB)
  This submission to the Department of Justice calls for significant reforms to the Equal Opportunity Act (1995). The Federation believes that in the present framework of the Act, none of the exceptions are reasonable limitations on the right to equality.
  
• Victorian Attorney-General’s Independent Review of the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (Vic) (Jan 2008, PDF, 233KB)
  The Federation believes that significant improvements must be made to the Equal Opportunity Act in order to prevent discrimination and offer timely and appropriate redress to victims. These changes must include a closer relationship between equal opportunity and the Human Rights Charter frameworks, reformed legal definitions, and an enhanced capacity for the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission or comparable body(ies) to achieve structural, institutional and systemic change.
  
• Australian Law Reform Commission Review of Australian Privacy Law (DP 72) (Dec 2007, PDF, 92KB)
  Community legal centre clients are often the most likely to have their privacy invaded, yet the least likely to be able to assert their human right to privacy. Accordingly the Federation supports most of the ALRC proposals for privacy law reform.
  
• Doing Justice: Bill of Rights (Nov 2007, PDF, 154KB)
  The Federation has begun an ongoing series, ‘Doing Justice: The Quick Guide to Justice Policy Issues’. This  first guide explains why Australia needs a federal Bill of Human Rights.
  
• Doing Justice: Asylum Seekers (Nov 2007, PDF, 139KB)
  The second guide in the ‘Doing Justice: The Quick Guide to Justice Policy Issues’ series suggests various legal and policy changes that are needed for asylum seekers in Australia to be treated more fairly.
  
• Federal Justice Policy Platform (Nov 2007, PDF, 142KB) 
  The Federation’s 2007 Federal Justice Policy Platform outlines how we believe the federal justice system could be improved to better address the needs of the client groups that Victorian community legal centres represent.
  
• Draft Family Violence Bill (Oct 2007, PDF, 197KB)
  The Federation recommends that the Bill be amended so that all significant carer relationships are potentially covered by the Bill. The Federation argues that to exclude carer relationships simply because they are paid or involve formal arrangements breaches the human rights of persons who are dependent on those carers.
  
• Draft Family Violence Bill, submission as a member of the Victorian Family Violence Justice Reform Campaign (Oct 2007, PDF, 646KB)
  The Campaign congratulates the Government on most aspects of the draft Bill, but recommends some significant changes. These include: the addition of Guiding Principles; the inclusion of domestic violence in the definition of family violence; the inclusion of carer relationships as relationships potentially covered by the Bill, whether those relationships are paid or not; and changes to proposed amendments to tenancy laws in relation to exclusion orders.
  
• River Red Gum Forests Draft Proposals Paper (Oct 2007, PDF, 85KB)
  The Federation supports the Paper’s recommendations for the creation or expansion of various National parks and other protected areas, including in particular the creation of Barmah National Park, which we believe should be administered and controlled under a joint management model.
  
• Second Civil Justice Draft Reforms (Sept 2007, PDF, 81KB)
  The Federation emphasises that any case management scheme designed to expedite court processes and deter unnecessary litigation must not be at the expense of disadvantaged individuals, who are often unrepresented. The Federation urges the Commission to adopt the issue of Legal Aid funding for civil proceedings, and strongly supports the Commissions’ proposals concerning interpreters.
  
• Draft Civil Justice Reform Proposals (July 2007, PDF, 58KB)
  The Federation supports many of the proposals but notes that they centre on the court process, and our civil law clients do not necessarily go to court. The Federation therefore recommends that other barriers to civil justice be considered in Stage Two of the Review.
  
• Client Legal Privilege and Federal Investigatory Bodies (June 2007, PDF, 43KB)
  The Federation submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission inquiry argues client-legal privilege is essential to people obtaining accurate legal advice. The submissions provides detail with regards the investigation of terrorism offences and national security matters.
  
• Classification Review - Material that Advocates Terrorism (May 2007, PDF, 104KB)
  The Federation does not support the proposal to amend the National Classification Code and refuse classification of material advocating terrorist acts.
  
• Making the Legal System More Responsive to Community: Report on the Impact of Victorian CLC Law Reform Initiatives (May 2007, PDF, 930KB)
  This report explores the role of Community Legal Centres within the Victorian legal system.  In particularly, it highlights the value CLCs can offer in policy debate, given they have client-based experience to draw upon.
  
• Proposed expansion of the Infringement system (May 2007, PDF, 44KB)
  The Federation does not support expansion of Victoria’s infringement system to include more complex summary offences until the infringement system is proven to be able to address the complex needs of CLC clients.
  
• Inquiry into the Police Discipline System (Apr 2007, Word, 119KB)
  CLCs work on a daily basis with communities that interact with Victoria Police. Given this work, the Federation takes a keen interest in ensuring that Victoria Police has the ongoing respect and support of the Victorian community.
  
• The Merits of Post-sentence Supervision and Detention of High Risk Sex Offenders (Feb 2007, PDF 24KB)
  While the Federation supports measures that can effectively protect the community from sex offenders, it believes indefinite sentences for high-risk offenders may be disproportionate to the crimes committed, and hence a breach of rights.
  
• Review of the Listing Provisions of the Criminal Code Act 1995 (Feb 2007, PDF, 92KB)
  The Federation believes that the listing provisions of the Code should be repealed in their entirety because they are fundamentally inconsistent with aspirations for a democratic society and compromise fundamental principles of the criminal law.
  
• Graffiti Prevention (Feb 2007, PDF, 73KB)
  The Federation does not support the introduction of the Graffiti Prevention Bill, which is designed to`get tough` on offenders, rather than provide effective graffitti prevention initiatives.
  
• Older People and the Law (Dec 2006, PDF, 104KB)
  The Federation recognises older people as one group in the community facing significant barriers in accessing legal services. This submission outlines CLC expertise in assisting this community.