Full text of the Australian Constitution from the Parliament of Australia website.
The National Archives of Australia presents 110 key documents that are the foundation of our nation.
AustLII provides free internet access to Australasian legal materials and one of the largest sources of legal materials on the net, with over four million searchable documents.
AustLII publishes public legal information: primary legal materials (legislation, treaties and decisions of courts and tribunals), and secondary legal materials created by public bodies for purposes of public access (law reform and royal commission reports for example) and a substantial collection of law journals.
Comprehensive listings of department and agency websites.
Legify helps you find the authoritative version of almost 14,000 Australian Acts and Regulations, instantly and direct from the legislative publishers of the Commonwealth, States and Territories.
A very useful listing of Internet law resources indexed by type of law, as well as Australian and international sites, updated regularly by the Parliamentary Library.
The Fitzroy Legal Service operates as a medium of change by working holistically, innovatively and with respect to:
* Empower people before the law through education and action
* Close the gap between law and justice
* Achieve greater equity between people
* Be an avenue for community participation.
The Federation of Community Legal Centres is an organisation leading and supporting Victorian community centres offering free legal services to clients with economic and social disadvantages.
Originally conceived as an in-house guide for lawyers dealing with poverty law, The Law Handbook was first published by the Fitzroy Legal Service in 1977. The publication has grown over the years to become a 1000-page book that is the most comprehensive do-it-yourself guide to the law in Victoria. The full Handbook is available on the website. To access the Law Handbook, click on the link above and select 'Law Handbook' below the header.
The Foundation is an independent statutory body working to improve access to justice in NSW, particularly for socially and economically disadvantaged people.
The Victorian youth justice program works with young offenders aged between 10 and 20 years. Their mission is: To ensure care, custody and supervision for young offenders through the provision of programs which will assist them to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to manage their lives effectively without further offending and to provide mechanisms, resources and direction to achieve this.
Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) is a statewide organisation that helps people with their legal problems. Their focus on helping and protecting the rights of socially and economically disadvantaged Victorians; and can help in areas of criminal law, family law and some civil law matters. PDF publications on information about the law by subject are available through the website.
VLA is a statutory authority established by legislation called the Legal Aid Act 1978. VLA is funded by Commonwealth and state governments but operates independently of government.
The Women In Prison Advocacy Network (WIPAN) works to raise awareness of and progress the cultural, social, economic and political inequalities that exist for criminalised women and female youth by addressing the policies and practices that sustain these injustices. WIPAN takes a grassroots approach to addressing women's and young women's social justice issues by directly engaging women and female youth post-release.
This site provides information and links to the Children's Court of Victoria, Magistrates Court, County Court, the Supreme Court of Victoria, the State Coroner's Office of Victoria, Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal and VCAT (Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal).
The Family Court of Australia is a superior court of record and deals with more complex matters. The Court’s goal is to deliver excellence in service for children, families and parties through effective judicial and non-judicial processes, high quality and timely judgments while respecting the needs of separating families.
The Court is a superior court of record and a court of law and equity. The Court has a substantial and diverse appellate jurisdiction. It hears appeals from decisions of single judges of the Court, and from the Federal Magistrates Court in non-family law matters. The Court also exercises general appellate jurisdiction in criminal and civil matters on appeal from the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island.
The Court was established to provide a simple and accessible alternative to litigation in the Federal Court of Australia (Federal Court) and the Family Court of Australia (Family Court) and to relieve the workload of those courts. The FM Act directs the Court to operate informally and to use streamlined procedures. This complements the Parliament’s initiatives to encourage people to engage in a range of dispute resolution processes.
The High Court is the highest court in the Australian judicial system. It was established in 1901 by Section 71 of the Constitution. The functions of the High Court are to interpret and apply the law of Australia; to decide cases of special federal significance including challenges to the constitutional validity of laws and to hear appeals, by special leave, from Federal, State and Territory courts.
Corrections Victoria is a business unit of the Department of Justice. It implements court judgments and orders of the Adult Parole Board. It sets strategy, policy and standards for the management of the state’s system of correctional facilities. It also develops programs for the containment and rehabilitation of prisoners and the community-based supervision of offenders.
The website also contains publications, manuals and statistics.
The Sentencing Advisory Council works to advise the Attorney-General on sentencing matters. The Council publishes a wide range of material on sentencing matters including research papers and reports on complex sentencing issues. Resources available includes information about sentencing and statistics.
When someone is charged with an offence and remanded into custody, they come from the community, and the majority of prisoners ultimately return to the community on release. VACRO’s work is based on a belief that the community has a responsibility to provide support to offenders and their families - to assist them to face the issues that confront them during arrest, imprisonment and upon release.
The ACC is established under the Australian Crime Commission Act 2002 as a statutory authority to combat serious and organised crime. We report directly to the Minister for Home Affairs and are part of the Attorney-General's portfolio. Publications are available for annual ACC reports, crime profile series fact sheets, illicit drug data report and Australian illicit drug reports and organised crime in Australia and more (in PDF).
The Australian Institute of Criminology is Australia's national research and knowledge centre on crime and justice. The Institute seeks to promote justice and reduce crime by undertaking and communicating evidence-based research to inform policy and practice. The AIC also provide access to PDF publications that are searchable by subject, series or type via their website.
The Australian Human Rights Commission is an independent statutory organisation that works to protect and promote the human rights of all people in Australia. Established by the Australian Government in 1986.
Australian Lawyers for Human Rights (ALHR) is a network of Australian lawyers active in practising and promoting awareness of international human rights standards in Australia.
Amnesty International is a global movement of 2.8 million supporters, members and activists in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights. Material in the site's "Library" can be accessed by country or theme.
The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights. The Human Rights section is available from the Home Page.
The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission is an independent statutory body with responsibilities under three laws: Equal Opportunity Act 2010, Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001, Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006.
Established in October 2007, ANZPAA is a joint initiative of the Australian and New Zealand Police Ministers and Commissioners. ANZPAA is comprised of three directorates, Corporate & Secretariat, National Institute of Forensic Science and Strategic Services. ANZPAA provides strategic policy advice to the ANZPAA Board on cross-jurisdictional policing initiatives that help enhance community safety and security.
The AFP provides a range of investigation and operational support, security risk management, security vetting and information services to assist public.
A PDF booklet that is a general guide on dealing with the police. It includes information for young people under the age of 18 and people with mental impairment. It has information about: when you can remain silent, when you have to give your name and address to the police, getting arrested, giving fingerprints, being searched, giving body samples, making a complaint about police, traffic offences, and fines.
Victoria Police provides a 24 hour police service to the Victorian community. Victoria Policecontributes to a high quality of life for individuals in the community by ensuring a safe and secure society and underpins the economic, social and cultural wellbeing of Victoria.
Victoria Police website includes policies, practices, legislation; statistics on crime, traffic and sex offenders register.