Law Report
Channel Details
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.
Recent Episodes
297 episodes
The dilemmas of parole board decision making
What is it like to have the responsibility of deciding if a violent offender should be released from prison and allowed back into the community?
New employment law pathway to hear sexual harassment complaints
In a legal first, the Federal Court has handed down a sexual harassment decision under protections recently introduced to the Fair Work Act.
Who should pay when prison guards or police officers cause injury?
If a child is injured by tear gas in a youth detention centre, are the authorities liable? And can a protester injured by police during a demonstratio...
Why a UK court upheld the Palestine Action terror ban
The Court of Appeal in London ruled that it was open to Britain's home secretary to designate the Palestine Action protest group as a terrorist organi...
Should a complainant's counselling records be used in a sexual assault trial?
The Law Report looks at the Victorian government plans to ensure health and counselling information is not used in court without the consent of victim...
Is there a place for AI in boardrooms and the courts?
Artificial intelligence is revolutionising all parts of the economy and our institutions — corporate boardrooms and the courts are not immune.
A bushfire starts on your property and spreads to your neighbours - are you liable for their losses?
A court has found that a South Australian farmer was responsible for setting fire to a pile of vegetation that was left smouldering and reignited six...
Trump's war on journalists: libel or lawfare?
There's been a wave of defamation suits from within the Trump administration targeting the US news media. Is it legitimate litigation or lawfare?
America's Erin Patterson? The Kouri Richins poisoning case
In a case that's transfixed the US, a woman who wrote a children's book about grief following her husband's death has been sentenced to life in prison...
Does EMDR therapy taint a witness's recollection?
Imagine you are a victim of crime and need therapy to help deal with a traumatic memory. Would you go ahead if it meant that your case might not be pr...
What does an election look like when there are no financial ground rules?
There are no political donation laws in Victoria following a High Court decision that overturned legislation in place for nearly a decade.
Scam victims want compensation as HSBC settles ASIC action
The Law Report speaks to victims who are calling for the banking giant to compensate them, and asks, how effective are Australian laws in dealing with...
Why was Ben Roberts-Smith granted bail on war crimes charges?
Australia's most decorated living soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has been granted bail after being charged with five counts of the war crime of murder. Why...
Euthanasia: How Australia's approach compares to other countries
In countries where voluntary assisted dying is allowed, there are very different legal frameworks. A high-profile case in Spain raises questions of wh...
A cultural approach to reducing Indigenous reoffending
Indigenous incarceration rates are off the scale in Australia. For the last four years, the District Court of New South Wales has been trialling the W...
How accurate is facial recognition software?
The Law Report is asking some big picture questions about the pros and cons of facial recognition software use by police and retailers.
High Court says government can't use ankle bracelets, curfews to monitor former immigration detainees
Should the Federal Government have powers to restrict the movement of former immigration detainees in the community?
Are suppression orders out of control in Victoria?
How accurate is a recent report that claims Victorian courts issue more suppression orders than in any other Australian jurisdiction?
Should an offender's disadvantage have an impact on their sentence?
What arguments and information should courts be hearing when they are sentencing an offender? In April, a tool to assist defence lawyers and judges wi...
Law Report Special: Star Casino executive directors breached their obligations under the Corporations Act
Matthias Bekier, former managing director of Star Entertainment, the company which operates Sydney’s Star Casino and Paula Martin, Star Entertainment’...
Claims chasers in natural disaster zones
The Law Report is shining a light on claims or disaster chasers who approach people whose homes have been damaged by a severe weather event.
Fifty years of 'no-fault' divorce in Australia
Two former family law judges sit down with Damien Carrick to revisit a time before no-fault divorce, when unhappy spouses often employed private detec...
Is the right to protest being undermined in Australia?
Queensland has introduced a bill to ban the slogans "from the river to the sea" and "globalise the intifada". Western Australia wants to give police t...
British AG Richard Hermer on Gaza, Israel, Greenland, and upholding the rule of law; Political donations buy access
The Law Report speaks to Richard Hermer, attorney general for England and Wales, who was in Australia recently with a message centred on upholding the...
How useful is AI in creating better legal outcomes and processes?
Can artificial intelligence reveal the assumptions judges make? Or help lawyers and litigants to identify appeal arguments?
What's in Australia's new hate crime and gun control laws?
In the wake of the Bondi mass shooting, the federal government has passed two significant pieces of legislation that it says are aimed at preventing f...
When a natural disaster strikes, what are your legal rights?
In the aftermath of Victoria's catastrophic bushfires, we look at how communities attempt to rebuild their lives and homes. We also discuss navigating...
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. T...
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. The Law Report explores how language and cultural...
How art is transforming the lives of First Nations prisoners
Can art change lives? The Confined 16 exhibition in Melbourne celebrated the works of First Nations artists who picked up the paint brush while they w...
"What's in your drugs?": Pill testing at music events
Does pill testing save lives? The Law Report's Damien Carrick visits a pop-up service at a Melbourne music event where substances are checked, and sta...
Dezi Freeman and the sovereign citizens movement
This year saw a massive manhunt for alleged police shooter Dezi Freeman in Victoria's mountainous north east. In the past, the 56-year-old has been li...
What does Victoria's historic treaty mean for First Peoples?
What impact could Victoria's historic treaty have on policy, legislation and governance for the state's First Peoples?
US lawsuits allege ChatGPT encouraged suicides, harmed users' mental health
In the United States, there is increasing attention on young people's interactions with AI chatbots. OpenAI is being sued over allegations that its Ch...
Countdown to Australia's social media ban
In two weeks' time, Australia's social media ban for children under 16 will come into force. How will it work? Will it protect kids from online harm?...
How legally tight are prenuptial agreements?
Are prenuptial agreements always legally watertight? Or can they be tossed out by the courts? The High Court recently handed down a decision that focu...
Whitlam dismissal 50 years on
November 11 marks the 50th anniversary of the dismissal of Prime Minister Gough Whitlam by Governor-General Sir John Kerr — an event that exposed and...
Fifty years of the Australian Law Reform Commission
The Australian Law Reform Commission is celebrating its 50th anniversary. The Law Report's Damien Carrick hosted an event in Melbourne to mark its hal...
Do we have a right to free speech in Australia?
The implied freedom of political communication has been at the centre of several recent high-profile court decisions. The Law Report asks: do Australi...
FOI reform and government transparency; Prosecuting the spread of deepfakes online
The Federal Government says it wants to reform the Freedom of Information system - what's in the proposed changes? And is the law keeping up with the...