Employment consequences of criminal behaviour: Double punishment or just deserts? Employment deprivations are hardships often consequent upon findings of criminal guilt and additional to criminal sanctions imposed by the courts - a convicted person may be dismissed from employment or ineligible to apply for certain jobs, particularly public sector positions. There are no settled legal principles governing inter-play between criminal behaviour and employment status and opportunities. Unfairness ....Employment consequences of criminal behaviour: Double punishment or just deserts? Employment deprivations are hardships often consequent upon findings of criminal guilt and additional to criminal sanctions imposed by the courts - a convicted person may be dismissed from employment or ineligible to apply for certain jobs, particularly public sector positions. There are no settled legal principles governing inter-play between criminal behaviour and employment status and opportunities. Unfairness may result, as the offence effectively attracts a 'double' punishment; an offender's rehabilitative prospects are impeded; social and economic burdens ensue.
The project aims to develop comprehensive policy guidelines concerning the appropriate connection between criminal behaviour and employment status for courts, governments and employers.Read moreRead less
The Legal Function of Serious Disability in Prenatal and Neonatal Health Care Settings. Increasing numbers of Australians are using prenatal testing technologies to avoid having a disabled child. Australians also have access to a range of sophisticated life-sustaining technologies for premature newborns and seriously imperiled infants. Legal guidance on the appropriate uses of these technologies is piecemeal and inconsistent across Australia's States and Territories, and the meaning of serious ....The Legal Function of Serious Disability in Prenatal and Neonatal Health Care Settings. Increasing numbers of Australians are using prenatal testing technologies to avoid having a disabled child. Australians also have access to a range of sophisticated life-sustaining technologies for premature newborns and seriously imperiled infants. Legal guidance on the appropriate uses of these technologies is piecemeal and inconsistent across Australia's States and Territories, and the meaning of serious disability varies amongst members of the community. This project will benefit Australians by providing greater consistency in decision-making about disability. This will be achieved by assessing the value of a uniform framework for governing legal responses to serious disability in the context of reproduction.Read moreRead less
Australia's Response to Trafficking in Women: Towards A Model for the Regulation of Forced Migration in the Asia-Pacific Region. The problem of trafficking in persons and issues of forced migration in the Asia-Pacific region are matters of national concern as they involve the security of the nation and the prevention of organised transnational crime. This project will contribute to the safeguarding of Australia by improving our understanding of the nature of the problem and what legal responses ....Australia's Response to Trafficking in Women: Towards A Model for the Regulation of Forced Migration in the Asia-Pacific Region. The problem of trafficking in persons and issues of forced migration in the Asia-Pacific region are matters of national concern as they involve the security of the nation and the prevention of organised transnational crime. This project will contribute to the safeguarding of Australia by improving our understanding of the nature of the problem and what legal responses work best in combating trafficking. By specifically focussing on the gaps in the existing law, practice and policy, the project will enable Australia to be a major international leader in this important field.Read moreRead less
Legal Responses to Systemic Injuries: Towards a New Paradigm for Compensation. This research aims to identify better and fairer ways for the legal system to respond to systemic injuries, such as the taking of indigenous children from their families, or widespread abuse of children in institutional settings. The tort system is under attack from various quarters: in this context, its failure lies in its focus on harms that happen on a one-to-one, rather than a systemic basis. The research will r ....Legal Responses to Systemic Injuries: Towards a New Paradigm for Compensation. This research aims to identify better and fairer ways for the legal system to respond to systemic injuries, such as the taking of indigenous children from their families, or widespread abuse of children in institutional settings. The tort system is under attack from various quarters: in this context, its failure lies in its focus on harms that happen on a one-to-one, rather than a systemic basis. The research will review redress schemes established in other countries (most notably Canada and Ireland) with a view to developing better and more appropriate legal responses to widespread contemporary harms.Read moreRead less
A study of law reform and its responses to rapid social and community change. This research is designed to assist law reform agencies and other bodies charged with ensuring that the law responds to rapid social change to design and implement best practice modes of responding most effectively both to the changing nature of the legal problems that arise in the 21st century and to the changing constituencies that are affected by them. Through three cases studies: family law reform, laws governing ....A study of law reform and its responses to rapid social and community change. This research is designed to assist law reform agencies and other bodies charged with ensuring that the law responds to rapid social change to design and implement best practice modes of responding most effectively both to the changing nature of the legal problems that arise in the 21st century and to the changing constituencies that are affected by them. Through three cases studies: family law reform, laws governing defences to domestic homicide and tort law reform the project will assess the extent to which they are responsive to the concerns of those traditionally excluded from the legal mainstream.Read moreRead less
Rethinking Mental Health Laws: An Integrated Approach. Mental health is one of the Commonwealth Government's national health priority areas. This research program will ensure the best possible outcomes for the Government's five-year action plan for better mental health services by developing model legal frameworks that will help shape the way in which individuals with mental illnesses can access the highest attainable standard of mental health care. Through interdisciplinary collaboration and th ....Rethinking Mental Health Laws: An Integrated Approach. Mental health is one of the Commonwealth Government's national health priority areas. This research program will ensure the best possible outcomes for the Government's five-year action plan for better mental health services by developing model legal frameworks that will help shape the way in which individuals with mental illnesses can access the highest attainable standard of mental health care. Through interdisciplinary collaboration and through developing model frameworks for both civil commitment and sentencing laws, this program will enable Australia to set the international agenda as to how countries can best respond to the mental health needs of their citizens.Read moreRead less
Improving the Effectiveness of Australia's Anti-Discrimination Laws. The effectiveness of Australia's anti-discrimination laws in reducing discrimination and developing acceptance of diversity has been limited by reliance on a complaints-based enforcement model, narrow drafting and technical judicial interpretations. The laws will be analysed and evaluated against overseas laws and by a survey of stakeholders and users. Results will significantly develop the literature, and produce recommendat ....Improving the Effectiveness of Australia's Anti-Discrimination Laws. The effectiveness of Australia's anti-discrimination laws in reducing discrimination and developing acceptance of diversity has been limited by reliance on a complaints-based enforcement model, narrow drafting and technical judicial interpretations. The laws will be analysed and evaluated against overseas laws and by a survey of stakeholders and users. Results will significantly develop the literature, and produce recommendations for improvement of the legislation to protect the community better from discrimination and encourage harmony with diversity, essential to Australia's future. All equal opportunity legislation throughout Australia will be analysed, with a focus on the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 1995.Read moreRead less
The Implications of the Convention on Biological Diversity for Infectious Diseases: The Case of Indonesia and Avian Flu. The proposal dovetails with the ARC's National Research Priority Safeguarding Australia while responding to an identified need for multidisciplinary research in biotechnology, economics, epidemiology, law, and public health. A keen national imperative exists to develop appropriate responses to infectious disease which balances policies predicated upon rule-of-law principles ag ....The Implications of the Convention on Biological Diversity for Infectious Diseases: The Case of Indonesia and Avian Flu. The proposal dovetails with the ARC's National Research Priority Safeguarding Australia while responding to an identified need for multidisciplinary research in biotechnology, economics, epidemiology, law, and public health. A keen national imperative exists to develop appropriate responses to infectious disease which balances policies predicated upon rule-of-law principles against imperatives to safeguard public health through vaccine R&D. Read moreRead less
A Consumer Bankruptcy Project - an interdisciplinary empiric inquiry into determinants and impacts of bankruptcy upon Australian debtors. The research will enhance the wellbeing of Australian society by obtaining a better understanding of the profile of bankrupt debtors, the reasons for personal default and the impact of the regulatory framework upon all stakeholders. It will draw parallels with US trends and apply an interdisciplinary empiric method to Australian personal insolvency data. The r ....A Consumer Bankruptcy Project - an interdisciplinary empiric inquiry into determinants and impacts of bankruptcy upon Australian debtors. The research will enhance the wellbeing of Australian society by obtaining a better understanding of the profile of bankrupt debtors, the reasons for personal default and the impact of the regulatory framework upon all stakeholders. It will draw parallels with US trends and apply an interdisciplinary empiric method to Australian personal insolvency data. The research will lead to an informed debate around critical wider issues such as financial literacy, managing money and self-funded retirement that impact upon the physical and material health of all Australians. The project promotes the reduction of financial distress and dependence in assisting efforts to shift the risk of economic burden of an ageing population from the Commonwealth.Read moreRead less
Creating more consistent privacy principles through better interpretation and law reform: an Australasian initiative to resolve an international problem. More consistent information privacy principles at the core of Australia's privacy laws, and more consistency in interpretation, will result in greater efficiency for business and government, and better protection of human rights and consumer interests. In the health sector, consistency of privacy laws will facilitate better health through the d ....Creating more consistent privacy principles through better interpretation and law reform: an Australasian initiative to resolve an international problem. More consistent information privacy principles at the core of Australia's privacy laws, and more consistency in interpretation, will result in greater efficiency for business and government, and better protection of human rights and consumer interests. In the health sector, consistency of privacy laws will facilitate better health through the development of national online health infrastructure. Australasian privacy scholarship will obtain enhanced international recognition through a pioneering study of the comparative use of privacy case law for cross-national interpretation. 'Model IPPs' will aid the harmonisation of global privacy laws. Read moreRead less