Law Report

Can you sue your Judge? "Mr Stradford", a father of two, has been awarded $300,000 in damages in recognition of the significant distress he experienced after he was wrongfully jailed by Federal Circuit Court Judge Salvatore Vasta.

If you knew that something illegal, dangerous, negligent or corrupt was happening in your workplace – what would you do? Who would you turn to for advice? A new report from the Human Rights Law Centre has found that there has not been a successful case brought by a whistleblower under the federal laws designed to protect employees speaking out about wrongdoing. They’ve now launched a new legal service to give whistleblowers the support they need to navigate these laws.This week, we also look at the case of Bill Spedding, who will receive $1.8 million in damages for malicious prosecution. In dismissing an appeal by the State of NSW, three judges of the Supreme Court described what happened to the tradesman as the worst case of false and concocted allegations by police – they had ever seen.

In recent years, a number of jurisdictions around Australia have introduced Vulnerable Witness Intermediary Services. These services assist complainants such as children and those with intellectual and cognitive disabilities to give evidence in court or answer questions in police interviews. While this service in Australia is currently only offered to complainants, the ACT will follow in the steps of Northern Ireland and extend its Vulnerable Witness Intermediary Service to defendants.

Can grass roots community meetings help build support for the Indigenous Voice referendum in Far North Queensland? And the ACT government is considering charges over the unauthorised release of the inquiry report into the Lehrmann sexual assault prosecution.

Think twice before you fire off that lighthearted emoji – there could be serious legal consequences.

Hundreds of thousands of Australian residents, a figure now approaching one million, don't speak English well, or at all. The growing demand for interpreters and the shortfall in those who are suitably qualified to work in the legal sector is putting severe pressure on Australia's busiest courts.

Lawyers in the Northern Territory say the shortage in Indigenous interpreters has become so critical that it's contributing to the vast over-representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in the criminal justice system.

This episode revisits the historic Federal Court decision to confirm native title over more than 40,000 square kilometres of sea country in the Torres Strait region last year. For the first time the claim brought together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to achieve joint native title outcomes. Traditional singing provided crucial evidence in the proceedings. Damien Carrick travelled to Waibene, or Thursday Island, to attend the outdoor sitting and to speak with traditional owners. (This program first aired in December 2022)

The Robodebt royal commission has made damning findings about government ministers and public servants who created and administered the automated debt recovery scheme from Centrelink recipients. And why is the technology company that created ChatGPT being sued in US courts?

The National Anti-Corruption Commission commences operation this week. And a New Zealand researcher investigates how jurors respond to evidence in sexual violence cases. (Warning: the conversation discusses sexual violence and child abuse)

When refugees arrive in Australia, they face huge challenges. So, how do they access the support they need? Perhaps counterintuitively, a newly launched children's book is designed to help refugees get legal assistance.

Why did it take the justice system 20 years to work out that Kathleen Folbigg was wrongly convicted over the deaths of her four infant children? Does Australia need a better way to investigate possible miscarriages of justice?

A New York Judge is considering what sanctions to impose on a lawyer who spectacularly misused ChatGPT. And Australia's only Indigenous federal judge Matthew Myers wants more First Nations people to use the family law courts to get the best outcome for their children.

A judge has thrown out the defamation action brought by Ben Roberts Smith one of Australia’s most decorated soldiers against three newspapers. The judge was satisfied, to the civil standard of the balance of probabilities, that allegations Mr Roberts-Smith was involved or complicit in unlawful killings in Afghanistan were substantially true. Also, convicted serial killer Kathleen Folbigg has been pardoned and released from jail after 20 years behind bars. New scientific knowledge around the cause of death of her four children was crucial in creating reasonable doubt in her 3 murder and one manslaughter convictions.

The deepening crisis engulfing accounting giant PwC – is this a case of a few bad apples or is there a deeper structural problem? And the Victorian Law Reform Commission is proposing legislative changes to enable deaf and blind people to serve on juries.

When calculating a sentence, a judge weighs up many considerations, including remorse. But is it really possible to determine if an offender is genuinely sorry?

In the race to decarbonise the economy, is there a risk of undermining the rights of Indigenous people? Mining companies Rio Tinto and BHP are proposing to develop north America’s largest copper mine on land considered sacred to the local Apache people.

Can the organisers of a sporting event be held liable for a participant's injuries? And new rules allow Centrelink staff to consider evidence of domestic abuse when assessing a person's relationship status to determine if they're eligible for income support payments.

We've all heard of 'sovereign citizens', a term referring to people who don't believe the law applies to them. But how much do we know about this group and its impact on the courts?

Is there a connection between the Fox News defamation settlement with US voting technology company Dominion and Lachlan Murdoch's withdrawal of legal action against the publisher of Crikey? And what do the sentencing remarks reveal about the secret trial of 'Witness J'?

What happens to tens of thousands of COVID-related fines in NSW after a Supreme Court ruling raised questions about their validity? How dangerous are the ageing oil tankers that help Russia dodge sanctions?

The ACT Legislative Assembly is considering a draft law to protect intersex children from undergoing deferrable and non-urgent medical treatments. And is the use of cryptocurrency really the marker of a sophisticated legal mind? A warning that this episode contains descriptions of surgical procedures.

In a legal first, a court in Western Australia has convicted three members of an outlaw motorcycle gang for displaying their club tattoos in public.

Former High Court judge Kenneth Hayne, a member of the Constitutional Expert Panel, speaks to the Law Report about the Federal Government's proposed referendum, and constitutional amendments, to create an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

An SAS veteran has been charged with the war-crime of murder under Australian law. A NSW judge has quashed the prison sentence of a protestor, and a cosmetic company selling a Botox alternative wins in the High Court.

The High Court has overturned the murder convictions of four men found guilty of killing a man in an Adelaide cannabis grow house. And, if a prisoner has a tax-related question, who can they turn to?

Lawyers for former US marine Daniel Duggan have lodged a complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee citing 'degrading' detention conditions as his extradition case is set to return to court.

The US city of Seattle has banned caste-based discrimination and there are calls for Australia to legislate similar protections. And, the UN independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal Borloz, is in Sydney to address the WorldPride Human Rights Conference.

'Facial recognition for cows', GPS animal tags and DNA testing represent some of the technology being developed to help investigate and solve livestock theft and other farm-related crimes.

Could changes to visa cancellation policies under section 501 of the Migration Act signal a softening of Australia's stand on deportation on character grounds? Also, the sticky note at the centre of a legal challenge to deportation. And fugitive Darko Desic is allowed to stay in Australia.

A Victorian coroner has described the treatment of an Indigenous woman in prison as inhumane and her death preventable. Arrested on the suspicion of minor shoplifting charges, the woman was denied bail.As the Victorian Parliament resumes sitting, Premier Dan Andrews has committed to overhauling the state's strict bail laws.With the permission of the family — we are using the name and the voice of a First Nations person who has died.If the contents of this program cause any distress there is help at Lifeline on 13 11 14 and also 13yarn that's 13 92 76

If you are responsible for a motor vehicle accident, just how far does your legal liability extend? A court decision could upend the assumption that in an accident, the car behind is always at fault. And a controversial case involving drug use in a parked car may be heading to the High Court.

The Federal Administrative Appeals Tribunal or AAT is to be axed, why and what will replace it?Remote signing of Wills was introduced as a COVID emergency measure, but as a new decision shows, there can be traps.

The New South Wales Supreme Court has ordered a judicial review in the convictions of the so-called 'Croatian Six'. Justice Robertson Wright said there are doubts and questions about the evidence used to convict the men in 1981. This episode first aired in September 2022.

Electric scooters are becoming an increasingly popular form of transport, but there is a confusing mosaic of laws that regulate their use across Australia. So, when accidents happen – who should be held legally liable?

Should patents be granted to Artificial Intelligence algorithms? Should machines have copyright over the art works they generate? What about animals? This episode first aired in June 2022.

In the second of a two-part series, the Law Report speaks with members of the International Association of Women Judges in several countries. They explain the obstacles women judges face and what gender diversity brings to legal decision making.

In the first of a two-part series on women judges, the Law Report focuses on the experience of judge Shakila Abawi Shigarf, who was forced to flee Afghanistan when the Taliban retook power in August 2021.

The Federal Court has confirmed native title over more than 40,000 square kilometres of sea country in the Torres Strait region. For the first time the claim brings together Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to achieve joint native title outcomes.

In the final part of a special for the Law Report we dig through recent cases with legal experts to find out what you can do when the neighbours want to build up and block the sunlight from hitting solar panels on your roof.

Medibank is the second high-profile company to be investigated by the Commonwealth privacy regulator over large-scale data breaches in recent months. Where does the government's legislative response fit within the broader review of the Privacy Act? And in the final part of a special for The Law Report, we dig through recent cases with legal experts to find out your right when the neighbour plans to build up and block the sunlight from hitting solar panels on your home.

When you are fighting with your neighbour over things like noise, trees or pets, whose side is the law on?In the third of a four-part special for the Law Report we dig through recent cases with legal experts to find out your rights when it comes to keeping pets in apartments.

Five years on, has the NT royal commission into youth detention achieved what it set out to do? Why do some children commit crime? Research reveals calls for more government support for Indigenous kinship carers in WA. Also, when you are fighting with your neighbour over things like noise, trees or pets, whose side is the law on? In the third part of a special for The Law Report, we dig through recent cases with legal experts to find out your rights when it comes to keeping pets in apartments.

When you are fighting with your neighbour over things like noise, trees or pets, whose side is the law on?

Hundreds of thousands of customers could be eligible to claim compensation after three of Australia's biggest banks – the Commonwealth Bank, ANZ and Westpac – settled class actions worth $126m over the sale of 'junk' insurance policies. Also, when you are fighting with your neighbour over things like noise, trees or pets, whose side is the law on? In the second of a four-part special for The Law Report, we dig through some recent cases with legal experts to find out who's in the right when a neighbour's tree is damaging your property.

We dig through recent cases with legal experts to find out when it comes to noisy neighbours who are in the right.

The New South Wales government has offered a lukewarm response to a parliamentary committee report that calls for an overhaul of the state's coronial system. And, when you are fighting with your neighbour over things like noise, trees or pets, whose side is the law on?

For the first time a journalist is allowed to record in the Thomas Embling Hospital, Melbourne's forensic healthcare facility. Meet therapists, the psychiatrist in charge and some of the patients who have committed a serious crime but are deemed not responsible for their actions due to mental illness. This episode first aired in March 2021.

Why did the actions of one juror lead to a mistrial for Bruce Lehrmann? And the case of a Brisbane motorbike accident victim who failed to secure compensation because he couldn't identify the truck that caused the incident.

The head of a team of United Nations torture experts speaks exclusively to the Law Report about the decision to suspend inspections of detention facilities in Australia. And, in a court or tribunal hearing, can one side use secret evidence that the other can't see?