Threshold Decisions in Determining Whether to Prosecute Child Sexual Abuse. The objective of this project is new knowledge about the way police and prosecutors make decisions about the prosecution of child sexual assault that could be used to influence policy and practice. Few cases of child sexual abuse reported to the police ever go to court but recent research in New South Wales for the Royal Commission indicates that the proportion has declined sharply over the last decade or so. This projec ....Threshold Decisions in Determining Whether to Prosecute Child Sexual Abuse. The objective of this project is new knowledge about the way police and prosecutors make decisions about the prosecution of child sexual assault that could be used to influence policy and practice. Few cases of child sexual abuse reported to the police ever go to court but recent research in New South Wales for the Royal Commission indicates that the proportion has declined sharply over the last decade or so. This project aims to examine how police and prosecutors decide which cases proceed and why, and how they confer with each other as well as when and how they consult with complainants and their families. This project plans to also develop and test practice tools and principles for police and prosecutors with expected benefits for both them and the families involved.Read moreRead less
The non-fatal strangulation offence as a response to domestic violence. This project aims to review the application and experience of the non-fatal strangulation offence as a response to domestic violence. Through a mixed-methods design, the project will generate new knowledge about the operation of the non-fatal strangulation offence in practice. This is crucial given that many women escaping domestic violence report non-fatal strangulation from their past partner. Expected outcomes of the Proj ....The non-fatal strangulation offence as a response to domestic violence. This project aims to review the application and experience of the non-fatal strangulation offence as a response to domestic violence. Through a mixed-methods design, the project will generate new knowledge about the operation of the non-fatal strangulation offence in practice. This is crucial given that many women escaping domestic violence report non-fatal strangulation from their past partner. Expected outcomes of the Project include the development of law reform and policy recommendations to improve the operation of the offence, enhance service responses and develop professional education. This research will provide significant social and economic benefits through better understanding of the legal response to domestic violence.
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Justice in the Streets? Responses to Public Homelessness and Public Dissent. This project focuses on legal and social regulation of city streets, including the impact on the increasing numbers of Australians experiencing public homelessness or engaging in public protest. Typical legal and policy responses tend towards criminalisation, exclusion and surveillance; the consequences for affected individuals include intensified social stratification and disadvantage along with risks of involvement in ....Justice in the Streets? Responses to Public Homelessness and Public Dissent. This project focuses on legal and social regulation of city streets, including the impact on the increasing numbers of Australians experiencing public homelessness or engaging in public protest. Typical legal and policy responses tend towards criminalisation, exclusion and surveillance; the consequences for affected individuals include intensified social stratification and disadvantage along with risks of involvement in the criminal justice system. This project examines legal, social and municipal strategies regarding public homelessness and public protest and investigates their impact on individuals and groups affected. Expected benefits include proposals for ways of reforming law and policy to achieve ‘spatial justice’ in city streets.Read moreRead less
Phoenix Activity: Regulating Fraudulent Use of the Corporate Form. Fraudulent phoenix activity is of great concern to Australian policymakers. It occurs where there is the deliberate liquidation of a company to avoid paying debts, but the business continues through another company, and in corporate groups through the liquidation of undercapitalised subsidiaries and transfer of business to other companies in the group. This behaviour causes huge losses in taxation revenue and large financial loss ....Phoenix Activity: Regulating Fraudulent Use of the Corporate Form. Fraudulent phoenix activity is of great concern to Australian policymakers. It occurs where there is the deliberate liquidation of a company to avoid paying debts, but the business continues through another company, and in corporate groups through the liquidation of undercapitalised subsidiaries and transfer of business to other companies in the group. This behaviour causes huge losses in taxation revenue and large financial losses for employees and unsecured creditors. To strengthen Australia’s economic fabric, this project aims to determine the optimal method of dealing with fraudulent phoenix activity through a thorough examination of all of its aspects in Australia and by a comparative analysis of international responses.Read moreRead less
International Criminal Justice: Law, Policy and its Relevance to Australia's security. International Criminal Justice (ICJ) is a discipline of increasing importance in global and national responses to atrocity and violence, in particular war crimes and terrorism. Australia's security, as well as its standing in the international community is directly affected by the way it understands and applies ICJ. This project will benefit the Australian community by analysing and developing an understanding ....International Criminal Justice: Law, Policy and its Relevance to Australia's security. International Criminal Justice (ICJ) is a discipline of increasing importance in global and national responses to atrocity and violence, in particular war crimes and terrorism. Australia's security, as well as its standing in the international community is directly affected by the way it understands and applies ICJ. This project will benefit the Australian community by analysing and developing an understanding of the law and policy issues affecting how we treat war crimes and terrorism and by engaging not just with the academic and practitioner community in Australia and internationally, but with government representatives from the Attorney-General's, Foreign Affairs and Defence Departments.Read moreRead less
Employment consequences of criminal behaviour: Double punishment or just deserts? Employment deprivations are hardships often consequent upon findings of criminal guilt and additional to criminal sanctions imposed by the courts - a convicted person may be dismissed from employment or ineligible to apply for certain jobs, particularly public sector positions. There are no settled legal principles governing inter-play between criminal behaviour and employment status and opportunities. Unfairness ....Employment consequences of criminal behaviour: Double punishment or just deserts? Employment deprivations are hardships often consequent upon findings of criminal guilt and additional to criminal sanctions imposed by the courts - a convicted person may be dismissed from employment or ineligible to apply for certain jobs, particularly public sector positions. There are no settled legal principles governing inter-play between criminal behaviour and employment status and opportunities. Unfairness may result, as the offence effectively attracts a 'double' punishment; an offender's rehabilitative prospects are impeded; social and economic burdens ensue.
The project aims to develop comprehensive policy guidelines concerning the appropriate connection between criminal behaviour and employment status for courts, governments and employers.Read moreRead less
How just is our criminal justice system? Crime reduction, retribution and their impact on substantive criminal law. The aims of punishment impact dramatically on the substantive criminal law. Although there have been various attempts to develop general theories of criminal responsibility, this is the first study to apply integrated theories of punishment to specific offences, and the analytical structure of the criminal law.
By exploring the tensions between crime reduction and retribution, t ....How just is our criminal justice system? Crime reduction, retribution and their impact on substantive criminal law. The aims of punishment impact dramatically on the substantive criminal law. Although there have been various attempts to develop general theories of criminal responsibility, this is the first study to apply integrated theories of punishment to specific offences, and the analytical structure of the criminal law.
By exploring the tensions between crime reduction and retribution, the project develops a theory of criminalisation; concrete proposals for the reform of core offences, a criminal code and systematic sentencing principles; thereby improving the efficiency, fairness and accountability of the criminal justice system.Read moreRead less
Preventive Detention of High Risk Offenders: The Search for Effective and Legitimate Parameters. This Project will provide Australian policymakers with proposals for the management and treatment of high risk offenders that adopt international best practice standards and which are constitutionally valid and consistent with Australia's international legal obligations. It seeks to help safeguard the community from offenders considered at high risk of causing harm.
Remedies under the Australian Consumer Law and the Common Law: Evolution and Revolution. The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and its precursor, the Trade Practices Act, have revolutionised the Australian consumer protection landscape. However, consumers are not receiving the protection envisaged under the Act because of fundamental uncertainties undermining the statutory remedies. The problem lies in the lack of any rigorous theoretical account of the ongoing interactions between the remedial prov ....Remedies under the Australian Consumer Law and the Common Law: Evolution and Revolution. The Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and its precursor, the Trade Practices Act, have revolutionised the Australian consumer protection landscape. However, consumers are not receiving the protection envisaged under the Act because of fundamental uncertainties undermining the statutory remedies. The problem lies in the lack of any rigorous theoretical account of the ongoing interactions between the remedial provisions of the ACL and the remedies that have traditionally been applied by judges in similar circumstances. This account will develop that framework to unlock the full potential of the remedial provisions of the ACL and provide a fresh means of understanding the evolving relationship between statutory and judge-made law.Read moreRead less
Regulating Australia's retail grocery sector - goals, actors and techniques. The major supermarket chains have a substantial economic and social impact on consumers, businesses and communities and are crucial to Australia's economic growth and productivity. Given their size and reach, regulation of the chains poses significant challenges. This interdisciplinary, empirical and theoretically driven project aims to interrogate the goals and processes of competition law as it applies in the retail g ....Regulating Australia's retail grocery sector - goals, actors and techniques. The major supermarket chains have a substantial economic and social impact on consumers, businesses and communities and are crucial to Australia's economic growth and productivity. Given their size and reach, regulation of the chains poses significant challenges. This interdisciplinary, empirical and theoretically driven project aims to interrogate the goals and processes of competition law as it applies in the retail grocery sector. In the first Australian research of its kind, it endeavours to explain how the chains' strategies and industry relationships influence regulatory action. The research is expected to produce recommendations on instruments and techniques to ensure that regulation of the sector is legally and practically efficient and effective.Read moreRead less