Law Report

ABC Australia

From courtroom dramas to miscarriages of justice, to how the law affects you — and so much more. The Law Report is your accessible guide to the big legal stories unfolding in Australia and across the world.

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249 episodes
Updated Tuesday

Episodes249

Newest first

Dec 7, 2022 · 10 min
BAD NEIGHBOURS S1 E4 | overshadowing solar panels
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.
Dec 6, 2022 · 30 min
Data breaches and the Privacy Act; what are your rights when it comes to your home's access to sunlight?
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.
Nov 30, 2022 · 11 min
BAD NEIGHBOURS S1 E3 | Pesky pets
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.
Nov 29, 2022 · 30 min
Youth in detention; what are your rights when it comes to 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.
Nov 23, 2022 · 10 min
BAD NEIGHBOURS S1 E2 | Troublesome trees
When you are fighting with your neighbour over things like noise, trees or pets, whose side is the law on?
Nov 22, 2022 · 30 min
Big banks settle insurance class actions; what are your rights in neighbour disputes over trees?
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 nei
Nov 16, 2022 · 9 min
BAD NEIGHBOURS S1 E1 | Noisy neighbours
We dig through recent cases with legal experts to find out when it comes to noisy neighbours who are in the right.
Nov 15, 2022
NSW coronial reform; what are your rights when it comes to noisy neighbours?
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?
Nov 8, 2022 · 30 min
Inside Thomas Embling Hospital, a forensic health facility
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.
Nov 1, 2022 · 30 min
'Juror misconduct' ends parliament rape trial; 'proper inquiry' in road accidents
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.
Oct 25, 2022 · 30 min
UN experts suspend detention visits; and the use of secret evidence in court
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?
Oct 18, 2022 · 30 min
UN calls for unlimited access for team inspecting detention facilities
The UN is urging Australian governments to offer unlimited access to UN inspectors visiting prisons and other detention facilities around the country. And Justice Jayne Jagot has been sworn in as the newest member of the High Court and for the first time a majority of the sitting judges on Australia's highest court are women.
Oct 11, 2022 · 30 min
Lawyers 'pressure test' Indigenous voice proposal; how should judges be appointed?
What do Australia's leading lawyers think about the Federal Government's plan to enshrine a First Nations' voice to parliament in the constitution? The country's top legal minds have been meeting to 'pressure test' the draft model. And how should judges be appointed?
Oct 4, 2022 · 30 min
Does the Government's proposed anti-corruption legislation go far enough?
Does the Federal Government's draft legislation for a national anti-corruption commission go far enough? And retired UK Supreme Court judge Lord Jonathan Sumption speaks to the Law Report about Julian Assange's fight against extradition to the US, the arrests of protesters following Queen Elizabeth's death, judicial appointments, and Brexit.
Sep 27, 2022 · 30 min
Police body cameras in domestic violence incidents
When police are called out to a domestic violence incident, do officers' body-worn video cameras always capture an accurate and complete record of what's taking place?
Sep 20, 2022 · 30 min
Fears states could expand use of 'post-sentence' detention after Garlett ruling
The High Court has upheld the constitutional validity of West Australian legislation that allows prisoners to be held in indefinite detention if a judge finds they could be at risk of committing a serious offence. It's feared the verdict may open the door for other states to expand the use of 'post-sentence' detention laws.
Sep 13, 2022 · 30 min
The Queen's role in Australia's constitution
A look at the legal and constitutional role of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. And the Commonwealth Ombudsman Iain Anderson discusses the expected visit to Australia by the UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture.
Sep 6, 2022 · 30 min
Judicial review to examine 'Croatian Six' convictions
The New South Wales Supreme Court has ordered a judicial review into 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.
Aug 30, 2022 · 30 min
Chris Dawson trial: former teacher found guilty of wife's murder
New South Wales Supreme Court Justice Ian Harrison has found former teacher Christopher Dawson guilty of murdering his wife Lynette, who disappeared in 1982. And calls for legislative change to help relieve Centrelink debt for people fleeing family and domestic violence.
Aug 23, 2022 · 30 min
Government releases legal advice on Morrison's secret ministerial appointments
The Federal Government has released legal advice from the Solicitor General regarding the former prime minister Scott Morrison's move to secretly appoint himself to multiple ministries. And the High Court has ruled in favour of internet giant Google in a defamation case involving a Melbourne lawyer.