Courts Must Consider Family Violence When Making Financial and Property Orders
The federal parliament passed the Family Law Amendment Act 2024 on 10 December 2024, which amends the Family Law Act 1975 in a several ways, including the way in which financial and property matters are determined after the breakdown of...
Constitutional Rights in Australia Versus the United States
Despite the efforts of the current president of the United States to enhance state control through executive orders at the expense of fundamental civil liberties, the nation’s constitution explicitly guarantees wide range of individual rights in relation to the government....
Constructive Murder in NSW: Homicide That Occurs During Another Serious Criminal Offence
At about 12.30 am on 24 May 2020, a man referred by the NSW Supreme Court as DPD and four other men, DJD, EE, Murdoch and Shillingsworth, were driving towards the home of Kevin Kourtis, which was located on Langton...
Doli Incapax: The Presumption that Kids Between 10 and 14 Cannot Form Criminal Intent
A 15-year-old boy made a complaint to New South Wales police about his older brother twice having had sexual intercourse with him, whilst he was roughly 6 years and 9 months old, which made his brother then 11 years and...
ICJ to Decide Whether Israel’s Blocking of Humanitarian Aid to Gaza is Unlawful
In the many years leading up to Hamas’ 7 October 2023 attack on Israel, during which almost 1200 Israeli’s were killed, the Israeli state had subjected Palestinians to what Amnesty International describes as “a cruel system of domination and a...
Prosecution Appeals Against Judge’s Decision to Allow Killer Cop to Avoid Prison
The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) will file an appeal against the inadequacy of the sentence imposed on a police officer who avoided a prison sentence despite being convicted of manslaughter for fatally tasering a 95-year old...
Sentence for Officer Who Killed Great-Grandmother by Taser Is Manifestly Inadequate
The former police officer convicted of manslaughter for fatally tasering 95-year-old great-grandmother Clare Nowland at an aged care facility in southern New South Wales has been given a non-custodial sentence, with many expressing the view that the penalty is far...
Readily Accepting Sexual Assault Complaints Could Cost Taxpayers Billions
Seven people have been arrested after a police investigation into alleged fraudulent compensation claims for historical sexual abuse in New South Wales institutions including schools and correctional facilities. The scheme is alleged to have involved a number of ‘claim farmers’...
New Federal Hate Crime Offences and Penalties in Australia
The Criminal Code Amendment (Hate Crimes) Bill 2025 (Cth) was passed by both houses of the federal parliament on 6 February 2025 and will soon come into force across Australia. The Bill amends the Criminal Code Act (Cth) (‘the Act’)...
Can a Protected Person Be Charged with Contravening an Apprehended Violence Order?
Criminal defence lawyers are often faced with the situation where a person for the protection of whom an apprehended violence order (or ‘AVO’) is made engages in conduct that may cause a person against whom an AVO is made, known...
