Model Laws to Regulate the Use of Restraint on Persons with Disabilities. This project aims to address the current lack of a common legal framework for regulating the use of restraint on persons with disabilities in mental health, disability and aged care sectors. Through developing model laws and guidelines, this project aims to support the Disability Ministers’ National Framework for Reducing and Eliminating the Use of Restrictive Practices and the National Mental Health Commission’s work on r ....Model Laws to Regulate the Use of Restraint on Persons with Disabilities. This project aims to address the current lack of a common legal framework for regulating the use of restraint on persons with disabilities in mental health, disability and aged care sectors. Through developing model laws and guidelines, this project aims to support the Disability Ministers’ National Framework for Reducing and Eliminating the Use of Restrictive Practices and the National Mental Health Commission’s work on reducing and eliminating restraint. Its main objective is to benefit persons with disabilities by supporting government policies aimed at reducing, with a view to eliminating, the adverse consequences of coercive practices in general.Read moreRead less
Transition to a clean energy future: the role of climate change litigation in shaping our regulatory path. As the world seeks a clean energy future, courts in Australia and other key fossil fuel-producing nations, like the United States, are increasingly hearing cases seeking to block the use of coal due to its climate change effects. This project critically assesses the role such climate litigation plays in generating regulatory momentum to address climate change.
Devising a legal blueprint for corporate energy transition. This project aims to provide a legal blueprint for using corporate law mechanisms to incentivise improved climate risk management and clean energy practices in Australian companies. Corporations are key players in efforts to transition the global energy system to clean energy sources and to mitigate climate risk. While this role is widely acknowledged, thinking on the best legal strategies that could foster corporate energy transition i ....Devising a legal blueprint for corporate energy transition. This project aims to provide a legal blueprint for using corporate law mechanisms to incentivise improved climate risk management and clean energy practices in Australian companies. Corporations are key players in efforts to transition the global energy system to clean energy sources and to mitigate climate risk. While this role is widely acknowledged, thinking on the best legal strategies that could foster corporate energy transition is in its infancy. Drawing on empirical data and more extensive United States experience with the use of corporate law tools for climate ends, the project plans to uncover roadblocks to corporate energy transformation, and identify law and governance reforms necessary for putting the private sector on a low-carbon pathway.Read moreRead less
Intangible cultural heritage across borders: laws, structures and strategies in China and its Association of Southeast Asian Nations neighbours. This project explores the way selected Asian countries have implemented international concepts regarding intangible cultural heritage and how cross-border conflicts about heritage have resulted from different interpretations of related 'rights'. This project develops proposals for international reconciliation and cooperation in heritage protection.
From margins to mainstream: gender equality and employment regulation. Progress towards gender equality in employment has stalled, despite anti-discrimination laws. This investigation of alternative regulatory strategies will build Australian expertise and contribute to knowledge about the relationships between gender equality and employment regulation, generating policy options for employment and human rights bodies.
Countering misconceptions in child sexual assault cases with expert evidence and judicial directions. This project reduces miscarriages of justice by identifying topics about which jurors benefit from specialised knowledge by an expert witnesses and the best way to deliver that information so they are better equipped to appropriately assess the credibility of child victims and offenders and render verdicts in cases of child sexual assault.
Legal and ethical issues in the inheritable genetic modification of humans. This project aims to investigate the legal and ethical implications of technologies that allow inheritable modifications of the human genome. The use of these technologies in human embryos is fast becoming an international reality, and this project aims to examine the implications for Australia. The project will clarify the legal status of inheritable genetic modification technologies in Australia, analyse the ethics of ....Legal and ethical issues in the inheritable genetic modification of humans. This project aims to investigate the legal and ethical implications of technologies that allow inheritable modifications of the human genome. The use of these technologies in human embryos is fast becoming an international reality, and this project aims to examine the implications for Australia. The project will clarify the legal status of inheritable genetic modification technologies in Australia, analyse the ethics of these new technologies, and, building on this, recommend regulatory reforms to guide Australia’s response to international scientific and legal developments. These reforms could improve the governance of these new technologies and guide their clinical adoption.Read moreRead less
The legal implications of revenge pornography. This project aims to investigate prevalence, nature and effects of revenge pornography in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Revenge pornography is a serious criminal justice problem, but only one Australian jurisdiction has introduced legislation to address the issue. Applicable laws here and elsewhere are inconsistent and inadequate. Little is known about how widespread these behaviours are or how socially, economically and psychologic ....The legal implications of revenge pornography. This project aims to investigate prevalence, nature and effects of revenge pornography in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Revenge pornography is a serious criminal justice problem, but only one Australian jurisdiction has introduced legislation to address the issue. Applicable laws here and elsewhere are inconsistent and inadequate. Little is known about how widespread these behaviours are or how socially, economically and psychologically harmful they are. The project aims to generate knowledge, a theoretical framework and a much-needed evidence base to develop law reform and strategic interventions.Read moreRead less
The Concept of ‘Imminence’ in the International Protection of Refugees. The project aims to contribute to the law on international protection by examining the concept of ‘imminence’. We are in an unprecedented era of international displacement; over 50 million people are on the move. While many are fleeing from traditional threats, such as conflict and persecution, some are leaving because they are scared of future risks – like the impacts of climate change. This creates new challenges for count ....The Concept of ‘Imminence’ in the International Protection of Refugees. The project aims to contribute to the law on international protection by examining the concept of ‘imminence’. We are in an unprecedented era of international displacement; over 50 million people are on the move. While many are fleeing from traditional threats, such as conflict and persecution, some are leaving because they are scared of future risks – like the impacts of climate change. This creates new challenges for countries because traditional refugee frameworks are ill-suited to respond. The question this project asks is: if people cross a border to escape future harm, how ‘imminent’ does the harm need to be before another country has an obligation to protect them? Should international law protect only people who face the risk of immediate danger, or should it also protect those at risk of harm that may manifest more slowly over time?Read moreRead less
Fear and licensing in Australia: Investigating the social licence to operate of an emerging coal seam gas industry. Australia’s nascent coal seam gas (CSG) industry is the site of substantial social tension. For some the industry can transform and safeguard national energy sources and fuel booming Asian exports. For others it damages both the environment and communities. This tension is vividly expressed by local protests and regulatory bans. Communities, mining companies and government invoke a ....Fear and licensing in Australia: Investigating the social licence to operate of an emerging coal seam gas industry. Australia’s nascent coal seam gas (CSG) industry is the site of substantial social tension. For some the industry can transform and safeguard national energy sources and fuel booming Asian exports. For others it damages both the environment and communities. This tension is vividly expressed by local protests and regulatory bans. Communities, mining companies and government invoke a 'social licence to operate' as fundamental to industry viability. This landmark project explores the concept of a social licence to operate in Australia's CSG industry to tease apart the dynamic risks, opportunities and tensions at work between corporations, rural and regional Australian communities and government, and offers policy and practice recommendations. Read moreRead less