Just spaces: security without prejudice in the wireless courtroom. How do jurors respond to seeing defendants in a glass cage, in a traditional wooden dock or at the Bar table? The project will examine how courtroom design shapes attitudes; and, bringing together court executives, architects and researchers, will show how flexible wireless courtrooms can meet both security and human rights standards.
Australian human rights complaints: Litigation, mediation or conciliation. This project will assess the effectiveness of the mechanisms used to resolve human rights complaints in Australia – conciliation, mediation and litigation. It will be the first project to evaluate the effectiveness of these mechanisms in a human rights context. Working with industry partners from the legal sector and four human rights commissions, this project will generate new knowledge on human rights complaints and on ....Australian human rights complaints: Litigation, mediation or conciliation. This project will assess the effectiveness of the mechanisms used to resolve human rights complaints in Australia – conciliation, mediation and litigation. It will be the first project to evaluate the effectiveness of these mechanisms in a human rights context. Working with industry partners from the legal sector and four human rights commissions, this project will generate new knowledge on human rights complaints and on the views of key stakeholders about the effectiveness of the mechanisms used to resolve human rights complaints. This new information will inform legal and policy reform throughout Australia. The expected outcomes include developing a robust evidence-based model for human rights dispute resolution in the Australian context.Read moreRead less
The presentation of expert evidence in Australian criminal trials: the role of lawyers and experts. This project will shed light on how courts, lawyers and experts can work effectively together to deliver expert evidence in the courtroom. Improving the provision and effective use of expert evidence will benefit the Australian community by providing a better quality criminal justice system.
Optimising Digital Compliance Processes in the Financial Services Sector. This project aims to develop a new approach to optimise digital compliance processes in Australian financial services firms. Effective digital compliance is needed to reduce growing regulatory burden and improve compliance with increasingly complex laws. This project expects to deliver new ways to optimise digital compliance that drive innovation and reduce the societal risks of non-compliance for end-users. Expected outco ....Optimising Digital Compliance Processes in the Financial Services Sector. This project aims to develop a new approach to optimise digital compliance processes in Australian financial services firms. Effective digital compliance is needed to reduce growing regulatory burden and improve compliance with increasingly complex laws. This project expects to deliver new ways to optimise digital compliance that drive innovation and reduce the societal risks of non-compliance for end-users. Expected outcomes include industry guidance strategies and innovative digital tools that capture the complexity of digital compliance and inform practical solutions. This will provide significant cost reduction benefits for firms and ensure that new digital compliance processes promote the public interest goals of law and regulation. Read moreRead less
Access to justice in interpreted proceedings: the role of Judicial Officers. This project aims to examine the ways judicial officers can improve courtroom communication and prevent miscommunication and error, particularly in criminal cases where speakers of the 'new and emerging' and Aboriginal languages are involved, and where interpreters receive limited or no specialised training. Using an innovative interdisciplinary approach, the project aims to generate new knowledge in examining the varia ....Access to justice in interpreted proceedings: the role of Judicial Officers. This project aims to examine the ways judicial officers can improve courtroom communication and prevent miscommunication and error, particularly in criminal cases where speakers of the 'new and emerging' and Aboriginal languages are involved, and where interpreters receive limited or no specialised training. Using an innovative interdisciplinary approach, the project aims to generate new knowledge in examining the variations in judicial officers communications practice when working with interpreters, and their impact on the effective transmission of information in the courtroom. Expected outcomes of this project will include improved outcomes of interpreted communication and a better access to justice for non-English speaking participants.Read moreRead less
Seeking Asylum Alone: The Treatment of Separated and Trafficked Children in Need of Refugee Protection in Australia. Forced migration is a critical human rights issue. Although increasing in number, children traveling on their own to seek protection abroad have received scant scholarly attention. No systematic research exists on the efficacy of asylum as a mechanism for protecting separated children smuggled or trafficked into Australia. Claims and experiences of such children will be catalog ....Seeking Asylum Alone: The Treatment of Separated and Trafficked Children in Need of Refugee Protection in Australia. Forced migration is a critical human rights issue. Although increasing in number, children traveling on their own to seek protection abroad have received scant scholarly attention. No systematic research exists on the efficacy of asylum as a mechanism for protecting separated children smuggled or trafficked into Australia. Claims and experiences of such children will be catalogued and studied to determine the extent and nature of the disadvantage they face within Australia's refugee system. The findings will contribute to an international project aimed articulating best practice guidelines for the legal treatment of separated children in refugee determination systems around the world.Read moreRead less
Interpreters in court: witness credibility with interpreted testimony. The study will improve access to justice for non-English speaking witnesses, testifying in court through an interpreter. It achieves this by taking advantage of new wireless technologies to transform the social and technological environment of the courtroom.
Living Down the Past: Criminal Record Checks and Access to Employment for Ex-offenders. This project will introduce increased certainty as to the rights and obligations of Australian employers and employees in the use of criminal records checks. It will have significant economic and social benefits for Australia, by helping to reduce the inappropriate exclusion of ex-offenders from employment; improving the rehabilitation of ex-offenders through facilitating their employment opportunities and lo ....Living Down the Past: Criminal Record Checks and Access to Employment for Ex-offenders. This project will introduce increased certainty as to the rights and obligations of Australian employers and employees in the use of criminal records checks. It will have significant economic and social benefits for Australia, by helping to reduce the inappropriate exclusion of ex-offenders from employment; improving the rehabilitation of ex-offenders through facilitating their employment opportunities and lowering rates of recidivism. Other outcomes will be to maximise Australia's labour supply and support efforts to prioritise social inclusion on the national agenda. The project will assist Australia to meet its international obligations and address human rights principles in relation to employment.Read moreRead less
Evaluating redress mechanisms governing the human rights practices of transnational business: lessons for institutional design and operation. Australian and United Kingdom researchers will collaborate with leading development and human rights organisations to design regulatory systems that promote sustained business compliance with human rights norms, and enable workers and communities to defend their human rights when these are infringed by businesses from Australia and other OECD countries.
Mental Health Tribunals: Balancing fairness, freedom, protection and right to treatment? In determining treatment options for mentally ill people, mental health tribunals must balance the person's right to treatment with rights to safety, justice and freedom from coercion. Much studied overseas, Australia lacks information about the 'fairness' of hearings. Applying popular 'therapeutic jurisprudence' literature, this project studies the impacts of hearings in 3 diverse Australian jurisdiction ....Mental Health Tribunals: Balancing fairness, freedom, protection and right to treatment? In determining treatment options for mentally ill people, mental health tribunals must balance the person's right to treatment with rights to safety, justice and freedom from coercion. Much studied overseas, Australia lacks information about the 'fairness' of hearings. Applying popular 'therapeutic jurisprudence' literature, this project studies the impacts of hearings in 3 diverse Australian jurisdictions (NSW, Vic & ACT). It uses field observations, interviews and file reviews to isolate best practice reforms. Broader than overseas work, it assesses the actual and perceived fairness of hearings, and the therapeutic outcomes for patients. As in Britain, the project will inform legislative reform and tribunal practices.Read moreRead less