Abuse

• Qld youth justice law changes: breaches govt’s obligation to put interests of children first

  25th Aug 2023

  The changes made to Queensland’s youth justice laws yesterday which mean that children can be held in adult police watch houses indefinitely are cruel and will endanger the wellbeing of vulnerable members of the community, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Tough new laws against image-based abuse

  10th Mar 2022

  Online abuse, including so-called ‘revenge porn’, is mostly conducted against women – and it’s on the rise. Anneka Frayne discusses the new penalties for perpetrators, as well as bullies, trolls and social media giants who publish defamatory material. 

• Domestic coercive control could soon be criminal in Australia

  14th Oct 2021

  Domestic abuse in the form of coercive control could soon be a criminal act under changes to domestic violence laws being considered by state and territory governments in NSW, Queensland, Victoria, SA and the NT. Anneka Frayne discusses what coercive control is and how the legislation would work, including the difficulties of criminalising it.

• The level of detail required in pleadings against the Crown: Niass v State of NSW

  1st Jul 2021

  Pleadings are required to identify the issues of the case, to articulate the nature and content of the claims, and to provide the defendant with a fair opportunity to meet the case. In her two-part series, Amanda Do discusses two Supreme Court of NSW judgments that clarify the level of detail required in pleadings, in particular with regard to claims of institutional abuse. The second judgment discussed is the case of Niass v State of NSW.

• The level of detail required in pleadings: PWJI v The State of NSW

  24th Jun 2021

  Pleadings must identify the issues of the case, articulate the nature and content of the claims, and provide the defendant with a fair opportunity to meet the case. In her two-part series, Amanda Do discusses two Supreme Court of NSW judgments that clarify the level of detail required in pleadings, in particular with regard to claims of institutional abuse. The first judgment discussed is the case of PWJ1 v The State of NSW.

• Internet trolls face huge penalties under proposed new laws

  20th May 2021

  Hefty fines and takedown laws proposed in the Online Safety Bill aim to address online abuse. Anneka Frayne takes a look into the proposed power to block websites sharing terrorist or extremist activities, and definition of ‘cyber abuse’ to include intention to cause serious harm.