Body Worn Camera Evidence and Assessment of Witness Credibility. The aim of this project is to establish how the use of Body Worn Cameras to record statements in domestic and family violence cases affects assessment of a complainant’s credibility at trial. It will generate new knowledge about the influence of: (i) the physical environment in which recordings are made, (ii) the audio and visual quality of recordings, and (iii) fact-finders’ (judges and jurors) emotional responses to recordings.
....Body Worn Camera Evidence and Assessment of Witness Credibility. The aim of this project is to establish how the use of Body Worn Cameras to record statements in domestic and family violence cases affects assessment of a complainant’s credibility at trial. It will generate new knowledge about the influence of: (i) the physical environment in which recordings are made, (ii) the audio and visual quality of recordings, and (iii) fact-finders’ (judges and jurors) emotional responses to recordings.
Expected outcomes of the project include law reform and policy recommendations to improve the practice of recording victim/witness statements and management of the use of such evidence in criminal proceedings.
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Construing Statutes: The Interaction between a Statute’s Linguistic Content and Principles of Statutory Interpretation. This project aims to identify the factors that determine what legal effect a statutory provision has; what effect it has on the content of the law; in cases where its legal effect is modified by another legal rule or principle. Such cases are commonplace, but the way in which statutory provisions interact with other legal rules or principles is poorly understood. The outcome of ....Construing Statutes: The Interaction between a Statute’s Linguistic Content and Principles of Statutory Interpretation. This project aims to identify the factors that determine what legal effect a statutory provision has; what effect it has on the content of the law; in cases where its legal effect is modified by another legal rule or principle. Such cases are commonplace, but the way in which statutory provisions interact with other legal rules or principles is poorly understood. The outcome of this project will be a general methodology for construing Australian statutes which can resolve problems that existing methodologies cannot. This will provide much-needed guidance to judges, and will advance our understanding of important legal and political issues concerning the effect that statutory provisions have on the content of the law.Read moreRead less
Obstacles to Contract Enforcement in Indonesia. The Australia-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership (IA-CEPA) came into force in 2020 but foreign investment in Indonesia has consistently failed to meet targets, largely due to concerns about the lack of reliable and just judicial contract enforcement. This project aims to investigate why predictable and fair contract enforcement in Indonesia is so inaccessible, particularly for foreign investors, and, through doctrinal and empirical resear ....Obstacles to Contract Enforcement in Indonesia. The Australia-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership (IA-CEPA) came into force in 2020 but foreign investment in Indonesia has consistently failed to meet targets, largely due to concerns about the lack of reliable and just judicial contract enforcement. This project aims to investigate why predictable and fair contract enforcement in Indonesia is so inaccessible, particularly for foreign investors, and, through doctrinal and empirical research, explain the causes of this situation. In partnership with Indonesian courts and lawyers, it also aims to support the development of legal and policy reform proposals that can help resolve Indonesia’s commercial contract enforcement problems and encourage Australian investment there.Read moreRead less
Protected Action Ballots and Protected Industrial Action under the Fair Work Act: The Impact of Ballot Procedures on Enterprise Bargaining Processes. Under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), lawful industrial action may be taken by employees in support of collective bargaining, provided that they have first authorised the action in a secret ballot. This research project explores the effect of the statutory process by which a bargaining representative of such employees seeks permission from the Fair W ....Protected Action Ballots and Protected Industrial Action under the Fair Work Act: The Impact of Ballot Procedures on Enterprise Bargaining Processes. Under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), lawful industrial action may be taken by employees in support of collective bargaining, provided that they have first authorised the action in a secret ballot. This research project explores the effect of the statutory process by which a bargaining representative of such employees seeks permission from the Fair Work Commission to conduct a ballot. It will examine the impact of the ballot requirement and statutory process on decision-making by bargaining representatives and subsequent employee access to industrial action in order to understand the effect of the regulatory scheme on enterprise bargaining behaviour. It is the first empirical study of strike ballots, analysing an important public policy area.Read moreRead less
Analysing interactions within the criminal deportation system. This project aims to investigate the convergence of migration control and criminal justice by analysing pathways to criminal deportation. The project expects to generate new criminological understandings of deportation as a means of promoting community safety using interdisciplinary approaches that capture regional and metropolitan practice. Expected outcomes include knowledge of how information flows between migration control and cr ....Analysing interactions within the criminal deportation system. This project aims to investigate the convergence of migration control and criminal justice by analysing pathways to criminal deportation. The project expects to generate new criminological understandings of deportation as a means of promoting community safety using interdisciplinary approaches that capture regional and metropolitan practice. Expected outcomes include knowledge of how information flows between migration control and criminal justice agencies, and the implications for policing, courts, and prison administration. This should provide significant benefits for policy-makers and practitioners, by articulating emerging and unexplored practices that have major consequences for community safety, social cohesion and the rule-of-law.Read moreRead less
The impact of migrants on Australian public law: An historical and cultural study. Many leading cases in constitutional and administrative law since 1901 have involved migrants and non-citizens. This project explores their role in the development of public law in Australia. Selected cases will be interpreted from historical, cultural, political and legal doctrinal perspectives, to understand how migrants have shaped the public discourse on judicial review, power of the Executive and human righ ....The impact of migrants on Australian public law: An historical and cultural study. Many leading cases in constitutional and administrative law since 1901 have involved migrants and non-citizens. This project explores their role in the development of public law in Australia. Selected cases will be interpreted from historical, cultural, political and legal doctrinal perspectives, to understand how migrants have shaped the public discourse on judicial review, power of the Executive and human rights. In mapping the impact of migrants on Australian law and society (and, ultimately, national identity), it will contribute to current debates about public law, and assist understanding of citizenship, immigration, sovereignty, and the proper scope of judicial review.
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Property as habitat: reintegrating place, people, and law. This project aims to produce an original account of property law that will connect it to place and human relationships. Property is at the centre of contemporary social life and law, yet it is often separated in legal scholarship from the human and natural worlds it structures. Using innovative analytical techniques and a grounded consideration of the functions and effects of property, the objective of the project is to produce an unders ....Property as habitat: reintegrating place, people, and law. This project aims to produce an original account of property law that will connect it to place and human relationships. Property is at the centre of contemporary social life and law, yet it is often separated in legal scholarship from the human and natural worlds it structures. Using innovative analytical techniques and a grounded consideration of the functions and effects of property, the objective of the project is to produce an understanding of property as habitat that is both sensitive to place and adapted to social conditions. Expected benefits include a responsive understanding of property that is better able to address the challenges of Australian society into the future.Read moreRead less
Human Capital, Cognitive Skills and Labour Market Outcomes. As Australia competes in the ‘educational race,’ this project will generate new knowledge on the relationship between education, skill attainment and economic outcomes in Australia. The research will provide new empirical evidence on cognitive and non-cognitive skills formation over the life-cycle, and the relationship between these skills and labour market outcomes in Australia within the broader international context. The research wil ....Human Capital, Cognitive Skills and Labour Market Outcomes. As Australia competes in the ‘educational race,’ this project will generate new knowledge on the relationship between education, skill attainment and economic outcomes in Australia. The research will provide new empirical evidence on cognitive and non-cognitive skills formation over the life-cycle, and the relationship between these skills and labour market outcomes in Australia within the broader international context. The research will advance methodological techniques for the economic analysis of cognitive skills and their economic impacts. The research will inform public policy formulation relating to educational attainment, skill development, and strategies to encourage longer workforce engagement over the life-cycle.Read moreRead less
Threshold Decisions in Determining Whether to Prosecute Child Sexual Abuse. The objective of this project is new knowledge about the way police and prosecutors make decisions about the prosecution of child sexual assault that could be used to influence policy and practice. Few cases of child sexual abuse reported to the police ever go to court but recent research in New South Wales for the Royal Commission indicates that the proportion has declined sharply over the last decade or so. This projec ....Threshold Decisions in Determining Whether to Prosecute Child Sexual Abuse. The objective of this project is new knowledge about the way police and prosecutors make decisions about the prosecution of child sexual assault that could be used to influence policy and practice. Few cases of child sexual abuse reported to the police ever go to court but recent research in New South Wales for the Royal Commission indicates that the proportion has declined sharply over the last decade or so. This project aims to examine how police and prosecutors decide which cases proceed and why, and how they confer with each other as well as when and how they consult with complainants and their families. This project plans to also develop and test practice tools and principles for police and prosecutors with expected benefits for both them and the families involved.Read moreRead less
The role of proxy and governance advisers in corporate governance. This project analyses the role of proxy and governance advisers in corporate governance in Australia and the USA. Its outcomes will clarify the nature and extent of proxy and governance adviser influence over the conduct of institutional investors and listed companies, thus allowing for a more informed debate on the need for regulation.