Criminal justice

• Vic Government must stick to commitment to raise the age of criminal responsibility

  12th Aug 2024

  A softening of the Victorian government’s commitment to raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility to 14 is a disappointing and ineffective way to respond to youth crime concerns, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) in Victoria.

• Raise the Age advocacy as part of community safety inquiry

  26th Jun 2024

• Impact of the regulatory framework for cannabis in New South Wales

  6th Jun 2024

• Justice responses to sexual violence

  30th May 2024

• Criminal record should not mean access to NDIS denied

  9th Apr 2024

  Access to the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) should not be used as a means of ongoing punishment of people who have a criminal record, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Alternative diversion model for children under the raised minimum age of criminal responsibility

  3rd Apr 2024

• Proposed SA sentencing laws for sex offences will result in injustice

  24th Jan 2024

  The South Australian government’s draconian new laws on sentencing for sex offences, developed without consultation with the legal community, will result in injustice, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance.

• Lawyers welcome Greens’ move to decriminalise begging in Tasmania

  26th Oct 2023

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) has welcomed the announcement from the Tasmanian Greens that they will table a Bill to decriminalise begging in Parliament next week.

• 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).

• Folbigg case highlights need for Australian criminal case review commission

  6th Jun 2023

  Australia needs an independent body with powers to investigate claims of wrongful conviction, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Inquiry into Tasmanian Adult Imprisonment and Youth Detention Matters

  18th Apr 2023

• Project 113 – Sexual offences

  14th Apr 2023

• Jailing your way out of crime does not work: ALA

  30th Mar 2023

  The bail law reforms that passed parliament in the Northern Territory yesterday will not work to reduce crime, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• ‘Poccum’s Law’ bail reform urgently needed to help prevent further tragedy

  22nd Mar 2023

  The ‘Poccum’s Law’ bail reforms proposed today for Victoria are urgently needed and will work to keep people from unnecessary and inappropriate imprisonment.

• Bail reform urgently needed but must give full discretion to the courts

  5th Mar 2023

  Victorian Attorney-General Jacelyn Symes proposed bail reforms announced today are welcome but there needs to be wholesale bail law reform says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Should juries be told the criminal history of the defendant?

  15th Sep 2022

  How much should a jury know? asks John Gooley, unpacking ‘a question that comes up time and again in discussions of justice and the law’ – with reference to a tragic case in Picton last week, where the past history of the defendant was made very public before a plea was even entered.

• Qld govt urged to decriminalise public drunkenness and begging

  8th Sep 2022

  Public drunkenness and begging must both be treated as health and social issues, not criminal offences, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Banksia Hill conditions are an appalling breach of human rights: reform is urgent

  19th Apr 2022

  Conditions at Banksia Hill youth detention facility indicate clear breaches of children’s human rights and show that little has been learnt from the Northern Territory’s Don Dale Royal Commission, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Age of criminal responsibility must not be lower than 14 years

  15th Nov 2021

  The age of criminal responsibility in Australia must be raised to at least 14 years as recommended by the United Nations.

• Australian Government must lobby Singapore to stop plans to execute mentally impaired man

  9th Nov 2021

  Lawyers are urging the Australian Government to call on Singapore to stop the planned execution of an intellectually disabled man convicted for drug offences.

• Renewed calls to raise minimum age of children in prison

  30th Sep 2021

  With children in prison as young as 10 years old in Australia, there is a growing push for federal, state and territory politicians to finally raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14. Anneka Frayne provides an overview of the statistics around children in prison, findings on cognitive capability and the doli incapax principle and the ongoing negative impacts of detention on young children.

• Criminalising coercive control will risk harm to First Nations women

  12th Jul 2021

  The criminalisation of coercive control has significant potential to harm the women that most need protection from violence, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Over 1,000 Australians with cognitive disability are detained indefinitely each year

  13th May 2021

  The indefinite detention of people with cognitive impairments and/or mental illness in our criminal justice system has been criticised for being arbitrary in nature and subjecting detainees to abuse and serious human rights violations.

  Eileen Baldry AO highlights the reforms needed to dismantle this shameful practice and provide more disability-focused support to those at risk.

• Mental Health (Forensic Provisions) Act provisions replaced by new legislation in NSW

  25th Mar 2021

  The introduction of the Mental Health and Cognitive Impairment Forensic Provisions Act 2020 (NSW) provides courts with better guidance when diverting a criminal defendant into mental healthcare and treatment. Mark Warren discusses the new Act’s provisions in regard to mental health definitions, the ‘fit for trial’ test, and the replacement of the ‘not guilty’ verdict with ‘not criminally responsible’.

• Juror misconduct leads to quashed conviction and retrial

  4th Feb 2021

  When considering their verdict, jurors may think that it is helpful to conduct an internet search on the case, on the accused, or even on the finer points of jury service. Peter Schmidt discusses the ways in which improper juror behaviour can cause unnecessary cost and burden to the court and the victim.

• The ‘constellation of circumstances’ that work against women applying for bail in Victoria

  14th Oct 2020

  Advocates in the legal and community sectors have expressed concerns that Victoria’s tough bail system is having a particularly detrimental impact on women.

  As part of a 12-month study investigating the drivers of women’s remand growth in Victoria, Dr Emma Russell from La Trobe University outlines the study’s key findings and recommendations. She discusses the ‘constellation of circumstances’ that contribute to women’s criminalisation, in particular, experiences of homelessness, poverty, family violence, and untreated mental and physical health problems.

• Prison lockdowns cannot be the solution to preventing COVID-19 outbreak

  27th Aug 2020

  As some 7000 prisoners in Queensland are placed into ‘extreme isolation’ to manage the threat of a COVID-19 outbreak, governments and courts are being urged to reduce the number of people in prison and provide for discounts on sentence time served.

• Grant bail for non-violent offences to help prevent COVID-19 prison outbreak

  30th Jul 2020

  As coronavirus cases lockdown prisons in Victoria and NSW, governments and courts are again being urged to reduce the number of people in prison.

• Lawyers urge Council of Attorneys-General to raise age of criminal responsibility

  24th Jul 2020

  Lawyers are calling for the age of criminal responsibility to be raised to 14 years when the Council of Attorneys-General meets on Monday to consider the issue.

• Don Dale ruling a strong message against use of force on children

  11th Jun 2020

  Greg Barns discusses the High Court’s decision, on 3 June, that the use of tear gas on four youths at the NT’s Don Dale detention centre was unlawful. He explores the implications of this decision, suggesting that it illustrates the need for discussion about changing the culture of dealing with young people who intersect with the criminal justice system.

• Calls for NSW government to retain program helping keep people with cognitive disability out of prison

  2nd Jun 2020

  Lawyers are calling on the NSW Government to continue funding a program that helps divert alleged offenders with intellectual disabilities and brain injuries from prison.

• Moratorium on minor offences needed to help keep community safe

  3rd Apr 2020

  A moratorium on the prosecution of low-level street and drug offences should be implemented immediately so that police can focus on assisting the community to keep well and safe, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Disadvantaged & vulnerable Tasmanians need support - not prosecution – in health crisis

  2nd Apr 2020

  A moratorium on drug offences and help for the homeless are needed to keep all Tasmanians safe during this public health emergency, according to the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• COVID-19: Release non-violent prisoners in WA to avoid health catastrophe in prisons

  26th Mar 2020

  The WA government must release selected prisoners to reduce the risk of a COVID-19 catastrophe in the state’s prisons, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Specialist drug court legislation welcomed

  18th Mar 2020

  Legislation introduced in the Victorian parliament today to expand the Drug Court, which has been running from Dandenong and Melbourne magistrates courts, to Shepparton, Ballarat and the County Court has been welcomed by the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• COVID-19: Changes needed to minimise impact on the delivery of justice

  17th Mar 2020

  Changes, including national access to judge-only trials, need to be made to ensure the justice system can still operate fairly in light of the social distancing requirements caused by COVID-19, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Homelessness courts urgently needed in Australia, say lawyers

  6th Mar 2020

  The conviction of a hungry, homeless man for taking food from a dumpster in Tasmania this week highlights the urgent need for specialist homelessness courts in Australia, according to the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Smart justice: QLD Productivity Commission recommendations will create safer communities

  31st Jan 2020

  Implementing the recommendations made today by the Queensland Productivity Commission will keep the community safe while moving away from a failed punitive justice model, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• Does ‘Never to be Released’ mean ‘life’?

  1st Aug 2019

  Tom Percy QC explores six questions arising from the sentencing of Anthony Harvey, the first person in WA ordered by a judge never to be eligible for parole.

• Justice reinvestment: Key to reducing Indigenous incarceration

  6th Jun 2019

  Professor Tom Calma AO makes the case for justice reinvestment: a community-led, data-driven and place-based alternative to incarceration.

• Canadian court ruling confirms solitary confinement is a ‘cruel and unusual’ punishment

  28th Mar 2019

  A Canadian court ruling this week which will allow compensation to be paid to prisoners who were placed in solitary confinement for long periods of time could have ramifications for the Australian prison system, according to the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).

• New sentencing laws in NSW

  6th Dec 2018

  Practical information for criminal lawyers and their clients.

• UN body recommends urgent action to remedy Australia’s human rights

  10th Nov 2017

  The UN Human Rights Committee has today slammed Australia’s human rights record, recommending the implementation of ‘comprehensive federal legislation’ to guarantee human rights, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.

• Australia’s human rights record comes under UN scrutiny

  17th Oct 2017

  Australia’s approach to implementing and protecting human rights will be scrutinised by a United Nations (UN) committee this week, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.

• The use of secret evidence in criminal and civil proceedings

  5th Oct 2017

  Court procedures aim to ensure fairness between parties. In criminal matters, the intention is to ensure that the party with the most to lose, the defendant, is assured a fair trial, to avoid punishing innocent people for crimes they have not committed. This requires setting out the case against an accused clearly enough that they can refute it. In civil matters, these procedures seek to ensure fairness between the parties, including ensuring that both sides have access to relevant evidence. 

• Thaiday, RE [2017]: A review of the Mental Health Court system

  13th Jul 2017

  Queensland Mental Health Court decides the case of Mrs Thaiday, charged with eight counts of murder.

• Terror law arms race will not increase safety

  13th Jun 2017

  Introducing ever-more draconian anti-terror legislation will not make Australians safer and may actually increase the risk of another terror incident, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.

• Vic juvenile detention changes create risk of torture and ill treatmen

  27th Jan 2017

  Placing Corrections Victoria staff from adult jails in charge of juvenile inmates could lead to situations similar to those exposed in the Don Dale juvenile detention Royal Commission, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.

• Lawyers condemn plans to formalise arbitrary detention in Australia

  4th Nov 2016

  The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security has today published a report recommending that Australia adopt the most draconian counter-terrorism laws in the world, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.

• Martin’s resignation an opportunity to get Commission right: lawyers

  1st Aug 2016

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance welcomes the decision of Brian Martin to stand down as Royal Commissioner into juvenile justice in the Northern Territory.

• Royal Commission terms of reference a missed opportunity - lawyers

  28th Jul 2016

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance said today that the Turnbull Government had missed a once in a generation opportunity to deal with the inherent racism of the Australian legal system towards Indigenous people.

• ALA welcomes Royal Commission announcement into children in detention

  26th Jul 2016

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) has today offered its strong support for the announcement of a Royal Commission into juvenile detention, following reports of appalling and sickening torture and ill treatment within juvenile detention in the Northern Territory.

• MEDIA ALERT: Lawyers oppose proposed changes to terror laws

  25th Jul 2016

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) opposes the Turnbull Governments proposed preventative detention for terrorism offenders.

• High Court terrorism ruling points to need for Constitutional reform

  15th Jun 2016

  The High Court today ruled that a defendant charged with Commonwealth terrorism offences cannot opt for a trial by judge alone in the New South Wales Supreme Court. 

• A Letter to Joko Widodo

  17th Apr 2015

  An appeal to the Indonesian President to spare the lives of Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan.

• Diplomacy with teeth

  9th Feb 2015

  Is Australia doing enough to save two young Australians on death row in Indonesia? 

• Suspects deserve presumption of innocence following terror raids

  18th Sep 2014

  Media coverage of the terror raids carried out by Federal Police in Sydney and Brisbane is undermining the presumption of innocence for those individuals questioned or arrested during the proceedings, the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA) said today.

• UN condemns inadequate response to police violence

  3rd Jul 2014

  A powerful condemnation of the inadequacy of Victoria’s laws to compensate victims of police violence has been delivered by the United Nations Human Rights Committee.
  
  Hovarth v Australia marks a new opportunity for the Australian and Victorian governments to ensure our laws conform with international human rights obligations, writes Sophie Ellis, solicitor at Flemington and Kensington Legal Centre. 

• Protecting Australia's innocent

  19th Jun 2014

  Few avenues for redress exist for individuals in Australia who have been wrongfully convicted. It's time to discuss establishing an independent Criminal Case Review Commission, writes Lauren Fitzpatrick, Media and Policy Assistant at the Australian Lawyers Alliance.

• Release of ACT Human Rights Commission report praised

  16th May 2014

  The ACT Human Rights Commission has released a human rights review of the conditions for women imprisoned at Alexander McConachie Centre in the ACT. The Australian Lawyers Alliance has welcomed the report's release.

• National security legislation may receive no independent review

  8th May 2014

  The government has proposed the repeal of the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor. In our submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee, we oppose the repeal, citing the need for an independent body to review legislation, especially in the absence of an Australian Bill of Rights.

• Planned unexplained wealth laws will not hinder crime in Tas - ALA

  15th May 2013

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance is concerned about planned unexplained wealth laws, soon to be tabled in Tasmanian parliament, after Attorney-General, Brian Wightman, flagged an upcoming Bill on the issue.

• ALA says new Qld unexplained wealth laws will not hinder criminals

  2nd May 2013

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance says Queensland’s Attorney-General, Jarrod Bleijie, is mistaken if he thinks introducing unexplained wealth laws will make any difference to criminal activity.

• ALA applauds criminal appeals review process

  21st Mar 2013

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance today commended the South Australian Government for its initiative and vision in bringing about a new review process for criminal convictions with fresh and compelling evidence upon which to base further enquiry.

• Proposal to extend NSW prison terms could be unconstitutional

  21st Feb 2013

  The New South Wales government’s proposed continuing detention laws for serious sex offences or violent crimes are possibly unconstitutional and are likely to meet a High Court challenge, the Australian Lawyers Alliance said today.

• Doubt cast over Vic Gov plan to outlaw bikie gangs

  21st Nov 2012

  Australian Lawyers Alliance member John Suta, who acts on behalf of nine members of the Wangaratta-based Tramps Motorcycle Club, today expressed serious doubts as to whether the proposed Victorian government legislation, to outlaw bikie gangs, will be legally enforceable in the state.

• ALA calls for immediate examination of taser use in NSW

  14th Nov 2012

  The NSW Government should immediately examine the extent of use by police of Taser guns following damming findings given today by Coroner, Mary Jerram, into the death of Brazilian student, Laudisio Curti.

• WA sex offender website will not make community safer - ALA

  15th Oct 2012

  “The Community Protection Website, released today by the WA Government, will not assist in reducing sex offences or making the community safer in WA,” Australian Lawyers Alliance director, barrister and criminal law spokesman, Greg Barns, said.

• ALA cautions against $50 million pledge for more CCTV cameras

  8th Oct 2012

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance says that the pledge by Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, today, to spend $50 million for additional CCTV cameras around Australia to monitor people’s movements in response to Jill Meagher’s death, does not take account of privacy concerns and potential misuse of cameras to profile groups and individuals.

• NT Minister’s decision not to discipline officers a disgrace - ALA

  5th Oct 2012

  A lawyer representing the family of a man who died in a Northern Territory watchhouse, earlier this year, has labelled the Deputy Chief Minister’s announcement today, not to discipline the officers who contributed to his death, as shameful.

• ALA cautions that death should not lead to the overuse of surveillance

  29th Sep 2012

  “The greater use of surveillance cameras by the Victorian Police and local government, as announced by Victorian Premier Ted Baillieu today, will not necessarily improve the detection of crime and comes with serious policy implications attached,” Australian Lawyers Alliance director and Criminal Barrister, Greg Barns, said.

• Charitable VIC motorcycle club members are having property confiscated

  26th Sep 2012

  Nine members of the Wangaratta-based Tramps Motorcycle Club have had their firearms, some of which are needed to work jobs and farming properties, confiscated by Victorian Police because of alleged prejudice and false assumption.

• NSW violent offender proposals fail fairness test - ALA

  24th Sep 2012

  Proposed laws announced by NSW Attorney-General, Greg Smith, today, enabling violent offenders to be kept in prison beyond the term imposed by a court or only released subject to strict limits on their freedom, failed the fairness test, the Australian Lawyers Alliance said today.

• ALA renews calls for Royal Commission into child sex abuse

  11th Sep 2012

  The ALA renews its calls for a Royal Commission into child sexual abuse in religious institutions, following Anglican Bishop Brian Farran’s support for an open inquiry.

• Trial by media has no place in upholding justice in Hey Dad case - ALA

  10th Aug 2012

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance is today urging restraint on the part of the media and the alleged victims of former Hey Dad star Robert Hughes, following prejudicial comments in the media that could impinge on Mr Hughes right to a fair trial.

• Failure to report may go straight to the top

  10th Jul 2012

  The allegations of failure to disclose serious sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in Australia may now go right to the top.

• DPP should be briefed by police: Failure to report child sexual abuse

  6th Jul 2012

  The ALA calls for a brief to be prepared by the police for the DPP in respect of the conduct of all three senior priests involved in the meeting at St Mary’s Cathedral on 3 September 1992, following the radio interview with Father Usher on ABC AM this morning.

• ALA renews calls for national inquiry into child sex abuse in church

  5th Jul 2012

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance renews its calls for a national inquiry into the abuse of children within the Roman Catholic Church. It is unacceptable for the Church to investigate its own failure to investigate child sexual abuse.

• Call for Royal Commission into abuse of children in care of church

  4th Jul 2012

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance is calling for a National Royal Commission into abuse of children in the care of the Catholic Church, following an ABC Four Corners program on Monday night that assisted in publicly ventilating the issue.

• ALA critical at second attempt to erode rights by SA government

  18th Jun 2012

  “The attempt by the South Australian Labour Government to again erode the right to be awarded costs in claims in prosecutions, which fail in summary hearings, shows disregard for the parliamentary process,” Australian Lawyers Alliance South Australian President, Tony Kerin, said.

• More govt funds needed for drug prevention and treatment

  24th May 2012

  “Today’s Institute of Criminology Report, released by the Justice Minister Jason Clare, linking drug use levels to crime, shows the only way to stop such criminal behaviour is by diverting funds from prison construction to drug prevention and treatment,” Australian Lawyers Alliance National President Greg Barns said.

• ALA calls for National Inquiry into sexual abuse of children

  19th Apr 2012

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance today called for a National Inquiry into sexual abuse perpetrated in religious institutions.

• Harming a pregnant woman less serious than a policeman - ACT law

  5th Apr 2012

  Under proposed ACT law it will be considered far more serious to harm a policeman than a pregnant woman, The Australian Lawyers Alliance is warning.

• ALA welcomes support on health-based drugs policy

  3rd Apr 2012

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance welcomed the Australia 21 report to be released today by prominent Australians such as, Foreign Affairs Minister Bob Carr, former Health Minister Michael Wooldridge, former AFP Commissioner Mick Palmer and former NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery QC, arguing that the 40-year war on drugs has failed and a new approach, that includes decriminalising some substances, should be adopted.

• ALA calls for National Judicial Inquiry into police weapon use

  19th Mar 2012

  The Australian Lawyers Alliance is calling for a National Judicial Inquiry into the use of Tasers, capsicum spray and other potentially lethal police weapons, following the death of a man in Sydney, yesterday.

• ALA urges Qld election not to be another law and order auction

  17th Feb 2012

  Australian Lawyers Alliance National President, Greg Barns, today urged all major parties in the forth-coming Queensland state election to steer clear of a law and order auction.

• Raising the age of criminal responsibility to 12 will not help: must be 14

  Victoria must follow internationally accepted human rights standards and raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14.