Dutton Considers Increasing Government’s Surveillance Powers
A proposal was recently floated by two government department officials to enhance the powers of Australia’s cyber spying agency, to enable it to digitally surveil Australian citizens from right here without a warrant. The proposal, if adopted, would add to the...
How Much Do Jurors Get Paid in NSW?
Jury service is an important civic duty for all people on the electoral role, but it can cause a great deal of stress and financial loss, especially for those who are employed or running a business. The rules which regulate...
What Happens if I Don’t Attend Jury Service in NSW?
Jury service is an important civil duty which is regulated in New South Wales by the Jury Act 1977 (NSW) (the Act). Section 63 of the Act prescribed a maximum penalty of 20 penalty units, which is currently equivalent to...
Police Officer Stood Down for Mowing Down Pedestrian
A senior police officer has been stood down after running down an 18-year old with a police car on a suburban street. The incident occurred in Thornleigh in Western Australia and there is currently an internal investigation underway into the...
What Disqualifies or Exempts a Person from Serving as a Juror in NSW?
The rules relating to jury service in New South Wales are primarily regulated by the Jury Act 1977. Section 5 provides that every person who is enrolled as an elector for the Legislative Assembly of New South Wales is qualified...
Another Ballarat Police Officer Accused of Brutality
Ballarat police have been under intense scrutiny in recent times, after a number of videos emerged of officers engaging in acts of brutality against members of the public. One of those videos shows officers dousing a handcuffed woman with pepper...
Changes to NSW Sentencing Options: Broadened Intensive Correction Orders
The NSW Parliament assented to the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Amendment (Sentencing Options) Act 2017 (the Act) on 24 October 2017, which amends the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act 1999 (the Sentencing Act) as it relates to the sentencing options available to...
Concerns for the Mental Health of Magistrates
There are calls for a review of the workplace health and safety of members of the judiciary, with the recent deaths of two Victorian magistrates raising concerns about their mental wellbeing. The sudden passing of magistrate Stephen Myall just weeks...
Tough New Laws Proposed for Corporate Crime
With revelations of systemic corporate misconduct surfacing during the current Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry (‘the Banking Royal Commission’), the federal government is proposing to increase penalties for criminal offences under the Corporations...
AMP May Face Criminal Charges
Senior Council Rowena Orr QC says financial services provider AMP could face criminal charges for making misleading statements to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Misconduct findings The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry...
