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 July 28

Episodes249

Newest first

Feb 18, 2025 · 28 min
High Court rules judges can't be sued for damages; Legal rights and wrongs of lookalike products
The High Court has ruled that all judges have immunity from civil action over decisions handed down in court. And how did a Sydney baby food company score a rare legal win against global supermarket giant Aldi?
Feb 11, 2025 · 28 min
Australia's new hate crime laws; Criminal defences of sexomnia and parasomnia
Australia's new hate crime laws introduce mandatory sentencing for convictions over public displays of hate symbols and terror-related crimes. And prosecutors drop a murder charge against a woman who argued she was asleep when she fatally stabbed her husband.
Feb 4, 2025 · 28 min
Should parents be prosecuted for withholding medical care from a child?
Members of a fringe religious group in Queensland have been found guilty of manslaughter following the death of a child. And can you sue your employer if disciplinary processes at work cause your mental health to deteriorate?
Jan 28, 2025 · 28 min
Recording Indigenous testimony for use in future compensation claims
The Kimberley Land Council is being approached by several native title groups keen to follow in the footsteps of Western Australia's Karajarri people, who have achieved a legal first.
Jan 21, 2025 · 28 min
Who can be held liable for bushfire damage?
The Law Report looks at the legal fallout from the devastating fires across Los Angeles. And who can be held liable for catastrophic bushfire damage in Australia?
Jan 14, 2025 · 28 min
Children and medical consent
When there's a dispute over the medical treatment of a gravely sick child, who gets the ultimate say?
Jan 7, 2025 · 28 min
NDAs in sexual harassment cases
How are NDAs used by lawyers in the settlement of sexual harassment claims?
Dec 31, 2024 · 28 min
Two hundred years of the NSW Supreme Court
This year, the Supreme Court of New South Wales celebrated its 200th birthday.
Dec 24, 2024 · 28 min
Tikanga: Incorporating Māori concepts in NZ common law
Justice Joe Willams, the first Māori member of New Zealand's Supreme Court, speaks to the Law Report about how First Nations concepts are being adopted into the common law.
Dec 17, 2024 · 28 min
How stressful is it to be a judge or magistrate?
Research published earlier this year examines the impact of heavy workloads on the wellbeing of judicial officers and the quality of justice delivered.
Dec 10, 2024 · 28 min
Decades on, suspect charged over Easey Street killings; Warning signs and legal liability
Veteran crime reporter John Silvester talks to Damien Carrick about some of the big developments in the criminal justice space in recent weeks.
Dec 3, 2024 · 28 min
How police use and misuse tasers
It's the Australian trial verdict that attracted worldwide attention.
Nov 26, 2024 · 28 min
How should the justice system respond when a judge commits a crime?
Tasmanian Supreme Court Justice Gregory Geason resigned after he was convicted and sentenced for assault and emotional abuse or intimidation. The Law Report looks at the broader question of how Australian jurisdictions balance judicial independence with accountability.
Nov 19, 2024 · 28 min
Vicarious liability and the Catholic Church; Driving with medicinal cannabis
The High Court has found that it is not possible to find the Catholic Church 'vicariously liable' for the actions of molesting priests because they are not legally speaking employees. And Victorian drivers with medicinal cannabis in their system will no longer automatically lose their licence.
Nov 12, 2024 · 28 min
Could re-election end Trump's legal woes? And compensating invasions of privacy
What does Donald Trump's election victory mean for his legal problems? And the case of a daughter who sued her father for sharing their private conversations.
Nov 5, 2024 · 28 min
The dilemmas of parole board decision making
What's it like to have the responsibility to decide if a serious violent offender should be released from prison and allowed back into the community?
Oct 29, 2024 · 28 min
Unfair dismissal: From medical marijuana to outsourced workers
Two unfair dismissal cases highlight a changing workplace. A Philippines based legal assistant has just won the right to bring an unfair dismissal case against her former employer. And the case of the stevedore with a medicinal cannabis prescription.
Oct 22, 2024 · 28 min
Justice Kyrou on the new Administrative Review Tribunal
In his first media interview, Administrative Review Tribunal President Justice Emilios Kyrou outlines some of his new powers. They include the ability to order the publication of low level, routine decisions, which may reveal systemic bureaucratic failures such as the Robodebt disaster.
Oct 15, 2024 · 28 min
AI and the law
How should the law respond to the risks and benefits of Artificial Intelligence?
Oct 8, 2024 · 28 min
When can tenants challenge evictions?
How do tenancy tribunals balance the competing needs of tenants and landlords? And why is Victoria - from a tenants' perspective - ahead of the pack?