New rules on what companies can do with personal information include tighter consent requirements, a ‘right to be forgotten’, and a simple test for what’s OK.
Articles on Law reform
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There’s no doubt open justice is at crisis point in Victoria following sustained negative media reporting. But it can be improved.
Counselling records including notes, transcripts and even audio and video files are ending up in the hands of defendants’ legal teams.
For victim-survivors, court orders can help save their lives. But the system can be messy, open to abuse and the orders aren’t always enforced.
The case in Victoria is among the first to rule on religious vilification at protests. It reckons with some of the nation’s most hotly-debated questions.
Multiple states have moved to tighten protest rules and increase police powers. But these laws aren’t adequately balancing public safety with human rights.
Democracies thrive on adapting and changing to new injustices and problems. The failure of the Voice referendum raises questions about Australia’s democratic health.
Convicted criminals won’t be able to use references from family and friends to get more lenient sentences in NSW, but more widespread change could be hard.
As Australia reforms laws that can inadvertently trap financial abuse victims, New Zealand must ask what protections – and risks – exist here.
The draft hate speech bill includes the biggest terrorism reforms in years, but it raises more questions than it answers.
From food delivery drivers to pets in separation and the much-discussed teens social media ban, Australian law has undergone seveal important changes in 2025.
The government’s laws cancelling social security payments for some accused of crimes turn a safety net into a weapon for punishing people.
In a nation-leading reform, those convicted of homosexuality and cross-dressing crimes in the island state can receive up to $75,000 in redress.
The Albanese government’s proposed FOI reforms attempt to update decades-old laws. Some of it is needed, but other parts severely threaten government transparency.
If legislation passes, the register would be the first public one in Australia, but evidence shows they do little do protect people.
From needing tougher penalties to stopping non-disclosure agreements silencing people, a new report shows Australia is falling behind on protecting workers.
Opponents of abortion used to say ‘love them both’, but recent protests in New South Wales show how the strategy has taken a more confrontational tone. But why?
Australia’s nature laws are now in even worse shape than when Labor was elected in 2022. But this is why things could be different this term.
Labor’s whopping majority doesn’t mean environmental reform will be any easier. When economy and environment clash, the economy usually wins.
Past policy positions and musings of new Liberal leader Sussan Ley offer insights into future directions on renewable energy, environment laws, and more.
Top contributors
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Professor (Practice), Faculty of Business and Economics, Monash University
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Professor of Family and Sexual Violence, RMIT University
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Associate Professor, Griffith Criminology Institute, Griffith University
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Emeritus Professor in Law and Criminal Justice, Adelaide University
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Associate Professor, School of Law, University of Canberra
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Professor of Law; Kim Santow Chair of Law and Social Justice, University of Sydney
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Emeritus Professor Monash University, Monash University
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Arie Freiberg is a Friend of The Conversation.
Emeritus Professor of Law, Monash University
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CEO, Sentencing Advisory Council
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Eleanor Rathbone Chair of Sociology, University of Liverpool
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Lecturer in Law, Adelaide University
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Professor, Centre for Women's Studies & Gender Research, Sociology, Monash University
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Associate Professor of Leadership, Swinburne University of Technology
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Dean, School of Law, Deakin University
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Professor of Evidence Law, University of Sydney