Criteria to evaluate
effectiveness
Protection of
individual rights
Enforceability
Questions to ask
Example
Does the law keep up with society, technology etc
in a timely manner?
Careful – beware kneejerk reactions which may
lead to unthought of long-term consequences.
The Turnbull government is considering changes to regional skilled visas to "bind" migrants to rural areas even after they secure a permanent place in
Australia, multiculturalism minister Alan Tudge has revealed. The minister said many migrants who were specifically sponsored for regional jobs were later
quitting those jobs and moving to the cities, perpetuating skills shortages in regional towns. Many have raised doubts about whether it would be feasible to
practically check whether migrants are actually remaining in regional or rural centres.
Is the law difficult to access in terms of expense,
time, unduly stressful or complex?
Australian history provides tragic examples of cases where people were wrongly convicted. In 2012, the first posthumous pardon in Australian
history was given – to a man convicted in 1944 of murder, and only in 2004, when skeletal remains were discovered was the case against him
definitively proved false. Fred McDermott had spent 8 years in prison.
NSW was the first state to introduce DNA innocence testing and, since 2007, has had a DNA Review Panel to redress wrongful convictions.
Legislation imposes a duty on police officers and other officers to retain certain biological evidence, which could be vital in a DNA case.
The Innocence Project Australia is working to correct failures in our criminal justice system, and to champion the defence of innocent people.
NSW Police are being slammed over a “tone-deaf” Beyonce-themed Facebook post about sexual assault. In the post, the NSW Police used lyrics from
Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” to promote strategies for safe behaviour for women going on Tinder dates. The ad was slammed as victim-blaming by
various commenters:
“Read the room, NSW police. Stop telling women to keep themselves safe and start writing ‘witty’ songs telling men to keep their
hands to themselves,” one comment reads.
“Wow thanks police,” wrote another. “I’m 100% sure “tell someone where you’re going” is brand new information for most women
and definitely not something they already do. So smart.
Accessibility
Does the law create just outcomes? Is it fair? Is it
moral?
Responsiveness
Are people treated equally by the law? Are some
people above the law? Is the separation of powers
maintained? Is the independence of the judiciary
protected?
Resource
efficiency
Consider different individual rights (e.g. freedom of
expression, right to bodily integrity, human rights).
Consider balancing these rights against:
 the needs of society
 others’ individual rights
The Wood Royal Commission into the NSW Police Force took place between 1995-1997. The terms of reference were to determine the existence
and extent of corruption within the New South Wales Police; specifically, it sought to determine whether corruption and misconduct were
"systemic and entrenched" within the service, and to advise on the process to address such a problem. It led to significant legislative reform,
personnel changes and a revamped culture within the NSW Police Force, demonstrative decisively that no-one is above the law.
Has Justice been
achieved?
Relevant laws may be on the books, but are they
practice to carry out? Is the relevant executive
branch able to act on them?
Twelve days after the Port Arthur massacre, the Australian prime minister, John Howard, announced a sweeping package of gun reforms in a country
where firearms had long been considered an essential prop in the national mythology of life in the bush. Howard was in Sydney when the massacre
started. That night he returned to Canberra. “I remember having a meeting with people on my staff. I came to the Lodge [the prime minister’s
residence] and we sat and talked about it for a couple of hours. We discussed immediately the possibility of changing the law,” he said.
Application of the
rule of law
Does enforcing this law or accessing the law cost
huge amounts? Would there be cheaper and more
appropriate ways of responding to the issue?
In June 2018, new laws establishing 150-metre exclusion zones around NSW abortion clinics were passed into law. The debate in the Legislative Council lasted
until 2am before the Bill was passed. Much of the debate centred around balancing freedom of expression by religious objectors with women’s rights to
privacy and freedom from harassment. The complexity of this balancing act is indicated by the fact that Minister for Prevention of Domestic Violence Pru
Goward, a former sex discrimination commissioner, also voted against the bill, arguing it was an attack on freedom of speech.
Meeting society’s
needs
Does the law listen to an evolving society? Is it
anachronistic?
In 2015, NSW courts became the first in Australia to accept the video statements as the main evidence in domestic violence cases. Victims who
consent to the videos being taken will avoid having to relive their experience multiple times by attending a police station, and reading out a written
statement in court. It was hoped the move would significantly increase guilty pleas by perpetrators, and reduce the number of victims withdrawing
from cases. In 2013, 8775 out of 34,789 applications for domestic violence orders were dropped after the complaint was withdrawn.
The National Commission of Audit was asked in 2014 to investigate the financial cost of Australia’s asylum seeker policy. It found that it costs:




$400,000 a year to hold an asylum seeker in offshore detention;
$239,000 to hold them in detention in Australia;
less than $100,000 for an asylum seeker to live in community detention; and,
around $40,000 for an asylum seeker to live in the community on a bridging visa while their claim is processed
Criteria to evaluate
effectiveness
Questions to ask
Example
Protection of
individual rights
Does the law keep up with society, technology etc
in a timely manner?
Careful – beware kneejerk reactions which may
lead to unthought of long-term consequences.
The Turnbull government is considering changes to regional skilled visas to "bind" migrants to rural areas even after they secure a permanent place in
Australia, multiculturalism minister Alan Tudge has revealed. The minister said many migrants who were specifically sponsored for regional jobs were later
quitting those jobs and moving to the cities, perpetuating skills shortages in regional towns. Many have raised doubts about whether it would be feasible to
practically check whether migrants are actually remaining in regional or rural centres.
Enforceability
Is the law difficult to access in terms of expense,
time, unduly stressful or complex?
Australian history provides tragic examples of cases where people were wrongly convicted. In 2012, the first posthumous pardon in Australian
history was given – to a man convicted in 1944 of murder, and only in 2004, when skeletal remains were discovered was the case against him
definitively proved false. Fred McDermott had spent 8 years in prison.
NSW was the first state to introduce DNA innocence testing and, since 2007, has had a DNA Review Panel to redress wrongful convictions.
Legislation imposes a duty on police officers and other officers to retain certain biological evidence, which could be vital in a DNA case.
The Innocence Project Australia is working to correct failures in our criminal justice system, and to champion the defence of innocent people.
Accessibility
Does the law create just outcomes? Is it fair? Is it
moral?
NSW Police are being slammed over a “tone-deaf” Beyonce-themed Facebook post about sexual assault. In the post, the NSW Police used lyrics from
Beyonce’s “Single Ladies” to promote strategies for safe behaviour for women going on Tinder dates. The ad was slammed as victim-blaming by
various commenters:
“Read the room, NSW police. Stop telling women to keep themselves safe and start writing ‘witty’ songs telling men to keep their
hands to themselves,” one comment reads.
“Wow thanks police,” wrote another. “I’m 100% sure “tell someone where you’re going” is brand new information for most women
and definitely not something they already do. So smart.
Responsiveness
Are people treated equally by the law? Are some
people above the law? Is the separation of powers
maintained? Is the independence of the judiciary
protected?
The National Commission of Audit was asked in 2014 to investigate the financial cost of Australia’s asylum seeker policy. It found that it costs:
Resource
efficiency
Consider different individual rights (e.g. freedom of
expression, right to bodily integrity, human rights).
Consider balancing these rights against:
 the needs of society
 others’ individual rights
The Wood Royal Commission into the NSW Police Force took place between 1995-1997. The terms of reference were to determine the existence
and extent of corruption within the New South Wales Police; specifically, it sought to determine whether corruption and misconduct were
"systemic and entrenched" within the service, and to advise on the process to address such a problem. It led to significant legislative reform,
personnel changes and a revamped culture within the NSW Police Force, demonstrative decisively that no-one is above the law.
Has Justice been
achieved?
Relevant laws may be on the books, but are they
practice to carry out? Is the relevant executive
branch able to act on them?
Twelve days after the Port Arthur massacre, the Australian prime minister, John Howard, announced a sweeping package of gun reforms in a country
where firearms had long been considered an essential prop in the national mythology of life in the bush. Howard was in Sydney when the massacre
started. That night he returned to Canberra. “I remember having a meeting with people on my staff. I came to the Lodge [the prime minister’s
residence] and we sat and talked about it for a couple of hours. We discussed immediately the possibility of changing the law,” he said.
Application of the
rule of law
Does enforcing this law or accessing the law cost
huge amounts? Would there be cheaper and more
appropriate ways of responding to the issue?
In June 2018, new laws establishing 150-metre exclusion zones around NSW abortion clinics were passed into law. The debate in the Legislative Council lasted
until 2am before the Bill was passed. Much of the debate centred around balancing freedom of expression by religious objectors with women’s rights to
privacy and freedom from harassment. The complexity of this balancing act is indicated by the fact that Minister for Prevention of Domestic Violence Pru
Goward, a former sex discrimination commissioner, also voted against the bill, arguing it was an attack on freedom of speech.
Meeting society’s
needs
Does the law listen to an evolving society? Is it
anachronistic?
In 2015, NSW courts became the first in Australia to accept the video statements as the main evidence in domestic violence cases. Victims who
consent to the videos being taken will avoid having to relive their experience multiple times by attending a police station, and reading out a written
statement in court. It was hoped the move would significantly increase guilty pleas by perpetrators, and reduce the number of victims withdrawing
from cases. In 2013, 8775 out of 34,789 applications for domestic violence orders were dropped after the complaint was withdrawn.




$400,000 a year to hold an asylum seeker in offshore detention;
$239,000 to hold them in detention in Australia;
less than $100,000 for an asylum seeker to live in community detention; and,
around $40,000 for an asylum seeker to live in the community on a bridging visa while their claim is processed