Category Archives: Law (Australia)

Dutton flip-flops on proposals for three separate referendums if Coalition wins election

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Opposition leader floats – then walks back – polls on Indigenous recognition, four-year parliamentary terms and stripping citizenship of dual nationals

Peter Dutton has floated – then quickly walked back – proposals for three separate referendums if he wins office, shutting down ideas he had raised to change the constitution for Indigenous recognition, four-year parliamentary terms and stripping citizenship of dual nationals.

The opposition leader had told The Australian newspaper in an interview published on Saturday that he was open to referendums on the three issues if there could be bipartisanship found with the Labor party. “I hope at some stage there will be common ground,” Dutton told the newspaper.

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Domestic violence survivors urged to take safety precautions after NSW justice department data breach

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Attorney general says hacker gained unlawful entry to state’s Justice Link system and accessed 9,000 files, which could include victim details

Domestic and family violence victim-survivors who are concerned their safety may have been compromised have been advised to take precautions after a major data breach at the New South Wales Department of Communities and Justice (DCJ).

The state attorney general, Michael Daley, said on Thursday that the hacker gained unlawful entry to part of the state’s secure online court registry system via a registered account and accessed 9,000 files.

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Sydney ‘science nerd’ may face jail for importing plutonium in bid to collect all elements of periodic table

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Emmanuel Lidden, 24, to learn fate after breaching nuclear non-proliferation laws by shipping samples of radioactive material to parents’ suburban home

A “science nerd” who wanted to collect all the elements of the periodic table could face jail time after ordering radioactive material over the internet.

But Emmanuel Lidden, 24, will have to wait to learn his sentence after breaching nuclear non-proliferation laws by shipping samples of plutonium to his parents’ suburban Sydney apartment.

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Lehrmann inquiry head Walter Sofronoff to challenge finding he engaged in ‘serious corrupt conduct’

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Lawyers for former judge say he has filed application with federal court disputing lawfulness of ACT Integrity Commission report

The former Queensland judge Walter Sofronoff will challenge findings that he engaged in “serious corrupt conduct” by leaking his inquiry into the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann to two journalists before it was made public.

The Australian Capital Territory Integrity Commission’s report, released on Wednesday, found Sofronoff’s conduct fell within “several elements of the definition of ‘corrupt conduct’”, through his disclosures to two journalists: Janet Albrechtsen at the Australian and Elizabeth Byrne at the ABC.

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Lehrmann inquiry head Walter Sofronoff engaged in ‘serious corrupt conduct’ , review finds

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Investigation by ACT integrity commission finds Sofronoff’s disclosure of confidential material to journalists amounted to corrupt conduct

The former Queensland judge Walter Sofronoff engaged in “serious corrupt conduct”, the ACT integrity commission has found, after reviewing his inquiry into the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann.

The report marks the latest development after Brittany Higgins went public with allegations that Lehrmann had raped her in Parliament House. The alleged incident has spawned a series of investigations and protracted legal battles.

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Palestine Action Group launches legal challenge against controversial NSW laws restricting protests

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Group claims laws rushed through after wave of antisemitism in state are ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘undemocratic’

A legal challenge has been launched against controversial New South Wales laws aimed at curbing antisemitism and which give police broad powers to restrict protests near places of worship.

The Palestine Action Group filed the challenge in the NSW supreme court on Monday, arguing in the statement of claim that the laws were invalid because the change “impermissibly burdens the implied [commonwealth] constitutional freedom of communication on government or political matters”.

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LNP accused of ‘outrageous betrayal’ after halting implementation of anti-discrimination law reform

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Attorney general says legislation developed in response to Citipointe scandal could ‘create unnecessary burden on organisations and institutions’

The Queensland government is facing criticism after announcing an indefinite delay to the implementation of anti-discrimination law reforms designed to protect victims of domestic violence, homeless people, women at work and others.

The state attorney general, Deb Frecklington, told parliament on Friday she would introduce legislation to delay implementation of the Respect at Work and Other Matters Amendment Act 2024.

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Indigenous leaders celebrate as court rejects appeal in landmark Yunupingu compensation case

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High court upholds ruling against commonwealth that Gumatj clan’s land was not acquired ‘on just terms’, in case initiated by renowned land rights activist

Traditional owners say justice has been served for their people as the high court dismissed a commonwealth appeal in a landmark compensation case.

The commonwealth lost the high court battle over whether it may be liable for up to $700m in compensation for bauxite mining at Gove in north-east Arnhem Land.

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NT police commissioner ousted amid jobs-for-mates scandal

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Michael Murphy outed himself as subject of Icac investigation that found he had mismanaged a conflict of interest

The Northern Territory’s police commissioner has been given his marching orders after a jobs-for-mates scandal uncovered by a corruption watchdog.

Michael Murphy outed himself as the subject of an Independent Commissioner Against Corruption investigation that found improper and unsatisfactory conduct against an unnamed public official who had mismanaged a conflict of interest in the recruitment of a senior officer.

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Social media platforms could face $50m fines if Australian children access adult content on their sites

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Under proposed new codes submitted to eSafety commissioner, tech companies would have six months to implement new measures

Social media and technology companies would have six months to implement a suite of new measures to restrict Australian children from accessing adult content online, or face fines up to $50m, under proposed new codes developed by the industry.

The draft codes, submitted to the eSafety commissioner last week for approval, would require social media platforms that allow pornography to prevent access to minors, and implement age assurance measures for users.

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Extra 220 children may have been wrongly detained as adult people smugglers in Australia, government admits

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In 2023 the federal court ordered $27.5m compensation for an initial estimated 220 Indonesian minors wrongly detained – but that number has now doubled

The Australian government has revealed that a further 220 Indonesian children may have been wrongly detained as adult people smugglers, doubling the number initially thought.

Late in 2023 the federal court ordered $27.5m in compensation for an estimated 220 Indonesian children who were wrongly detained as adult people smugglers between 2010 and 2012.

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Australian citizen detained 32 times at Sydney airport accuses border force of systemic racism

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Hubert Igbinoba, who is suing the Australian government, says he is singled out because he is black – a claim the government denies

An Australian citizen detained 32 times at Sydney airport – without allegation or charge – has told the federal circuit court he is stopped and searched almost every time he enters the country because he is black.

Okungbowa Hubert Igbinoba also told a directions hearing on Tuesday that an $80,000 settlement offer from the government was an attempt to silence him.

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Australia should repatriate and investigate alleged crimes of Islamic state member found in Syria, experts say

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Exclusive: Home Affairs tells the Guardian consular assistance is ‘severely limited’ in Syria, where Mustafa Hajj-Obeid remains in custody

The Australian government should repatriate, monitor and investigate any crimes committed by a member of Islamic State who was wounded in the extremist group’s final battle, according to multiple security and international law experts.

Last week, the Guardian revealed an Australian man whose fate was not publicly known was alive and in custody in a prison in north-eastern Syria, run by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

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Referendum needed for Dutton’s call to toughen citizenship-stripping laws, expert says

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Constitutional law expert Helen Irving says such a change appears to be a distraction from serious nature of anti-Israeli comments from NSW nurses

Peter Dutton’s proposal to toughen citizenship-stripping laws in response to comments made by two New South Wales nurses would probably require a referendum, a constitutional lawyer says.

Both major party leaders have been accused of a “bidding war” on who can look tougher on the issue, with Abul Rizvi, a former senior immigration official, urging politicians not to throw more petrol on the fire amid social tensions.

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Pressure from ‘higher up’ at ABC to sack Antoinette Lattouf from very first day on air, court hears

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ABC manager who had approached Lattouf for temporary hosting role told the court she had ‘tried to stop them’ from firing journalist

There was pressure from “higher up” in the ABC to sack Antoinette Lattouf from the very first day she was on air, Lattouf’s line manager has told the federal court.

Elizabeth Green, the ABC manager who had approached Lattouf for the temporary hosting role, told the court she had “tried to stop them” from firing Lattouf but that “there was pressure coming from higher up”.

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Peter Dutton and home affairs department cleared of wrongdoing in case involving Melbourne terrorist

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No potential breaches found by independent inquiry into former Coalition government’s handling of Abdul Nacer Benbrika case

Peter Dutton and the home affairs department have been cleared of wrongdoing over what a judge described as “a serious interference with the administration of justice” in a court case involving Melbourne terrorist Abdul Nacer Benbrika.

But the independent review clearing Dutton and his former department will not be released publicly, Guardian Australia has confirmed.

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Human Rights Commission considers discrimination complaint against Peter Dutton over Gaza comments

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Complaint lists numerous public comments by the Liberal leader, a staunch supporter of Israel, which it alleges show discriminatory behaviour towards Palestinians, Muslims and Jews

The Australian Human Rights Commission is considering a complaint that alleges Peter Dutton discriminated against Palestinians and Muslims in public comments after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks and during the subsequent war in Gaza.

The complaint, coordinated by the law firm Birchgrove Legal, includes allegations that “Palestinian-Australian, Arab-Australian and Muslim-Australian complainants” reported feeling “dehumanised … and humiliated as an ‘Other’ who does not and should not matter to Australia” as a result of some of the Liberal leader’s public commentary.

“justifying or otherwise failing to condemn violence against Palestinian civilians by Israel in likely breach of international humanitarian law”;

“erasing the human rights and equal dignity and worth of Palestinians by denying crimes and atrocities committed against them”;

“and conflating Palestinians as being terrorists or terrorist sympathisers”.

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Invasion Day marcher stripped of $800,000 compensation as police duty of care ruling overturned

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Laura Cullen was among 5,000 people at a 2017 Sydney protest when she was knocked down and injured as NSW police tried to arrest a man

A landmark legal ruling that set out the duty of care New South Wales police owe people attending protests has been overturned on appeal, stripping an Invasion Day marcher of an $800,000 compensation claim and forcing her to repay $103,00 in legal costs.

The NSW court of appeal handed down the decision shortly before Christmas, overturning an earlier ruling that found police had a duty of care to a woman who attended a protest where she was a bystander to an arrest, and who was knocked down and injured during the arrest.

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Australia restricting number of domestic workers foreign diplomats can bring into the country, UN official says

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Information campaign directed at diplomatic missions expected after court cases highlighted ‘slave-like’ working conditions for domestic workers


The Australian government has restricted foreign diplomats bringing domestic workers into the country, a UN anti-slavery expert has reported, after two recent federal court cases exposed systemic exploitation a judge described as “slave-like working conditions”.

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Children will get sentences ‘more punitive than necessary’ under new crime law, Queensland LNP admits

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Attorney general Deb Frecklington acknowledges bill will likely increase number of children in state watch houses

Queensland’s Liberal National party government has acknowledged their signature youth crime legislation will “directly discriminate” against children, by limiting their “protection from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”.

The bill is also “expected to have a greater impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, who are already disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system,” according to the government’s tabled statement of compatibility with human rights.

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