Australian Law Reform Commission

The Australian Law Reform Commission (often abbreviated to ALRC) is an Australian independent statutory body established to conduct reviews into the law of Australia. The reviews, also called inquiries or references, are referred to the ALRC by the Attorney-General for Australia. Based on its research and consultations throughout an inquiry, the ALRC makes recommendations to government so that government can make informed decisions about law reform.

The ALRC is part of the Attorney-General's Department portfolio; however it is an independent statutory authority constituted under the Australian Law Reform Commission Act 1996 (Cth), and the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 (PGPA Act). As an independent agency, it is able to undertake research, consultations and legal policy development, and to make recommendations to the Parliament, without fear or favour.

The ALRC's objective is to make recommendations for law reform that:

bring the law into line with current conditions and needs remove defects in the law simplify the law adopt new or more effective methods for administering the law and dispensing justice, and provide improved access to justice.

When conducting an inquiry, the ALRC also monitors foreign legal systems to ensure Australia compares favourably with international best practice.

The ALRC aims to ensure that the proposals and recommendations it makes do not trespass unduly on personal rights and liberties of citizens, or make those rights and liberties unduly dependent on administrative, rather than judicial, decisions and, as far as practicable, are consistent with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

The ALRC must also have regard to any effect that its recommendations may have on the costs of access to, and dispensing of, justice.

Background The ALRC is the primary law reform agency for the Australian government. It has its origins in the Law Reform Commission, which was established in 1975 under the Law Reform Commission Act 1973. This legislation was superseded by the Australian Law Reform Commission Act 1996 (Cth) (the ALRC Act) which came into effect on 11 November 1996. The new act was intended to improve the structure and functions of the ALRC, consistent with the recommendations of the 1994 Report of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs titled, Law Reform—the Challenge Continues.

Constitution Under the amendments to the ALRC Act in 2012, the Commission consists of a President and up to six other members (more commonly called Commissioners). The performance of the Commission's functions, and the exercise of its powers, are not affected merely because of one or more vacancies in its membership. The Attorney-General may, from time to time, appoint such other part-time members of the Commission as the Attorney-General considers necessary to enable the Commission to perform its functions. Full-time members are to be appointed by the Governor-General and part-time members are to be appointed by the Attorney-General. A member holds office for the term (of at least six months but not longer than five years) specified in his or her appointment, but is eligible for re-appointment.

Law reform process The process for each law reform project may differ according to the scope of inquiry, and the ALRC usually works within a particular framework when it develops recommendations for reform. An Inquiry begins with Terms of Reference delivered by the Attorney-General identifying an area of law that needs to be reviewed for various reasons including: there is community concern about a particular issue that needs to be addressed through the process of law reform recent events or legal cases have highlighted a deficiency with the law scientific or technological developments have made it necessary to update the law or create new laws. An Issues Paper is usually the first official publication of an inquiry. It provides a preliminary look at issues surrounding the inquiry. It serves to educate the community about the range of the problems under consideration. Discussion Papers provide a detailed account of ALRC research, including a summary of the various consultations and submissions undertaken and received, and set out draft proposals for reform.

The ALRC makes a formal call for submissions whenever it releases an Issues Paper or Discussion Paper. Through the submissions it receives, the ALRC can gauge what people think about current laws, how they should be changed and can test its proposals for reform with stakeholders before finalising them.

ALRC Final Reports make specific recommendations for changes to the law or legal processes. In formulating recommendations, the ALRC draws not only on submissions, but also face to face consultations, academic and industry research, international research and models, and its considerable experience in law reform. The ALRC seeks to consult with people who have expertise and experience in the laws under review, as well as people likely to be affected by the laws in question. During the process of formulating recommendations, the ALRC has regard to any policy aims expressed in terms of Reference and the principles for reform identified for each particular inquiry, against which possible proposals are assessed.

The Attorney-General is required to table the Final Report in Parliament within 15 sitting days of receiving it, after which it can be made available to the public. The Australian Government decides whether to implement the recommendations, in whole or in part.

Presidents +FromToTitleNamePostnominals19751984ChairThe Hon Michael KirbyAC CMG19841985ChairThe Hon Murray WilcoxAO QC19851987ChairThe Hon Xavier ConnorAO19881993ChairThe Hon Elizabeth EvattAC19941999PresidentAlan RoseAO19992009PresidentEmeritus Professor David WeisbrotAM20092017PresidentEmeritus Professor Rosalind CroucherAM20172018Acting PresidentRobert Cornall20182023PresidentThe Hon Justice Sarah DerringtonAM2023PresentPresidentThe Hon Justice Mordecai BrombergSC

Commissioners +FromToName19751975Professor the Hon Gareth Evans AC KC19751981Associate Professor Gordon J Hawkins19751981Professor Alex C Castles19751977The Hon John Cain19751979The Hon Sir Francis Gerard Brennan AC KBE QC19761978Russell Scott19761985The Hon Murray Wilcox AO QC19761979Sir Zelman Cowen AC GMG GCVO PC QC19761985David St L Kelly AO19761980Howard Screiber19761979The Hon James Spigelman AC KC19771981Brian J Shaw QC19771979Allan N Hall AM19781980John Q Ewens CMG CBE QC19781983Bruce M Debelle AO KC19781979Professor Duncan Chappell19791980Dr John A Seymour19791984James Mazza19801983Associate Professor Robert Hayes19801986The Hon Tim Smith AM KC19801983G W P Aarons19801984The Hon Francis M Neasey19811984The Hon Gerald E Fitzgerald AC KC19821990Judge James Crawford AC SC19821990Mr Theodore Simos QC19821987Professor Alice Erh-Soon Tay AM19831989Professor David Hambly19831985Dr Michael Pryles AO PBM19831990Professor Michael R Chestermann19841985Sir Maurice Byers CBE QC19851987The Hon Josephine M Maxwell19841987The Hon Donnell Michael Ryan QC19841986Ronald W Harmer19841987George Zdenkowski19841989Professor Richard W Harding19851989Dr Nicholas Seddon19861989Richard Fisher AM19861987The Hon John Basten AO KC19861987Dr Peter Cashmann19871992John H Greenwell19871990Professor John L Goldring19891992The Hon Peter E Nygh AM19901991Greta Bird19901991Dott P Totaro AM19911992Jim Armitage19911992Leigh Hall AM19921995Christopher Sidoti19922002The Hon John von Doussa AO KC19801997Stephen Mason19931995Professor James Lahore19931997Professor Bettina Cass AO19931997Professor the Hon Peter Baume AC19931995Professor Rebecca Bailey-Harris19932003The Hon Ian Coleman SC19931994Professor Brent Fisse19931995Sue Tongue19931994Professor Hilary Charlesworth AM19931994Professor Regina Graycar19931994Professor Jennifer Morgan19941996Michael Ryland19952000David Edwards PSM19962002Dr Kathryn Cronin19982006The Hon Mark Weinberg AC KC20002004Ian Davis20002006Professor Brian Opeskin20002002Mr Hank Spier20012004Professor Anne Finlay20052009Professor Les McCrimmon20032007The Hon Susan Kiefel AC KC20062012The Hon Justice Susan Kenny AM20062008The Hon Robert French AC20092010Magistrate Anne Goldsborough AM20102011The Hon Bruce Lander KC20102011The Hon Arthur Emmett AO KC20112012Professor Terry Flew20122013The Hon Susan Ryan AO20072013The Hon Justice Berna Collier20122013Professor Jill McKeough20132014Graeme Innes AM20132014Professor Barbara McDonald20132015Professor Lee Godden20152015Professor Suri Ratnapala20122017The Hon Justice Nye Perram20172017Robert Cornall AO20172017Judge Matthew Myers AM20182019The Hon Cheryl Edwardes AO20182019The Hon Michelle May AM KC20182019Dr Andrew Bickerdike20172019Geoffrey Sinclair20172019The Hon John Faulks20172018Professor Helen Rhoades20192020The Hon Justice Robert Bromwich20122022The Hon John Middleton AM KC20212023The Hon Justice Craig Grierson Colvin20222023The Hon Justice Stephen Rothmann AM20242025The Hon Marcia Neave AO20242025Judge Liesl Kudelka2024PresentTony McAvoy SC2025PresentDr Maeghan Toews

Inquiries into the ALRC Throughout the history of the ALRC there have been a number of inquiries into its role, constitution and functions. They include: 1977-1979 Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs inquiry into the processing of law reform proposals. 1993-1994 House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. This was the first review of the commission's performance, structure and overall method of operation. 1997-1998 – Possible Improper Interference with a Potential Witness Before the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Native Title and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Land Fund (73rd Report) 2010 – Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committees an Inquiry into the role and governance of the ALRC and the adequacy of its staffing and resources.

Australian Law Reform Commission

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