Justice

JADE (Judgements and Decisions Enhanced) is a free online legal research service which has been developed by BarNet a not-for-profit technology services organisation run by NSW barristers.

The Judicial College of Victoria is where the Victorian judiciary access ongoing education and professional development. The College also publishes a suite of highly valuable legal resources. The College supports judges, magistrates, coroners and VCAT members to stay up to date and to develop the skills they need to perform at their best.

Fitzroy Legal Service aims to empower people before the law through education and action, and through making Victorian legal information freely available to the public, including through publishing the Law Handbook.

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.

The Foundation is an independent statutory body working to improve access to justice in NSW, particularly for socially and economically disadvantaged people.

Youth Justice supervises children and young people who are in the criminal justice system, including young people 10-18 years of age and young adults up to 24 years of age who are serving their sentence in Youth Justice’s ‘dual track’ system. Youth Justice may work with young people in the community, or in custodial services.

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. PDF publications on information about the law by subject are available through the website.

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.

The Federal Register of Legislation (the Register) is the authorised whole-of-government website for Commonwealth legislation and related documents. It contains the full text and details of the lifecycle of individual laws and the relationships between them. The Register is managed by the Office of Parliamentary Counsel in accordance with the Legislation Act 2003.

Comprehensive listings of department and agency websites.

Independent research about Australian Government legislation, providing a useful summary of key points and as well as analysis of any legislation bills and amendments.

A searchable full text database of Australian federal and state legal cases and legislation.

Research based news and analysis. Topics include:

List of available publications. Some specific publications are listed below:

Tabled in Parliament on 10 October 2007, the Commission’s final report made 157 recommendations aimed at ensuring the Bail Act functions simply, clearly and fairly.

The courts frequently deal with people charged with offences who require a special response from the law due to their serious mental impairment, intellectual disability or mental illness. In July 2013, the Commission published this consultation paper that raised a broad range of questions and concerns.

Tabled in Parliament on 18 November 2004, this final report recommended the abolition of the partial excuse of provocation, changes to the definition of self-defence, the recognition of excessive self-defence as a partial defence and the introduction of expert evidence about family violence.

The final report to Parliament on 1 March 2006 made 153 recommendations to improve the response to victims from police, courts and the community.

The final report, tabled in Parliament on 18 April 2012, made 440 recommendations to modernise, clarify and simplify guardianship laws to better meet the needs of Victoria’s changing population.

In its final report on Jury Directions published in July 2009, the Commission made 52 recommendations.

The report released on 29 June 2011 contained 24 recommendations, including that legislation clearly describe the role of independent persons and detail the consequences of failing to arrange for an independent person to attend an interview.

Publishes crime statistics and data, as well as research and analysis into recorded crime and criminal justice issues and trends in Victoria.

The Civil Juries Charge Book is a searchable resource available to help judges and practitioners with the conduct of civil trials before a jury.

The Victorian Criminal Charge Book is a searchable resource and includes model jury directions ('charges'), explanatory commentary ('bench notes'), statutory extracts, lists of authorities and jury checklists.

This searchable manual explains the law of criminal procedure under the Criminal Procedure Act 2009.

This manual provides judges and practitioners with searchable information on current sentencing principles and sentences by offence.

The Law Handbook is available to read online for free. (Scroll down the landing page and click on Read Now.)

This open access guide (free to read and use) is designed to support students undertaking legal studies and contribute to the development of research skills in Australian law schools.

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 Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2021, merged these Courts to reform family law case management practice and procedure across both Courts. The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 1), a specialist family law court, is a continuation of the Family Court of Australia and is a superior court of record and a court of law and equity established by Parliament in 1975 under Chapter III of the Constitution. It hears the most complex family law trials and appeals. The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2), is a continuation of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia and is an intermediate court of record and a court of law and equity established by Parliament in 2000 under Chapter III of the Constitution. The Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) has broad federal jurisdiction in areas including family law, migration, fair work, bankruptcy, intellectual property, consumer law, human rights and administrative law.

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 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.

Information, referrals and support for people affected by family and domestic violence.

How Victoria Police can support people experiencing domestic and family violence.

Provides specialist support services for anyone in Victoria who is experiencing or afraid of family violence.

Safe and Equal is the peak body for specialist family violence services that provide support to victim survivors in Victoria.

Where to access domestic violence support services in Australia from ReachOut, the most-accessed online mental health service for young people and their parents in Australia.

Working to provide a range of services in the areas of response and recovery to victim survivors of family violence. We are a not-for-profit organisation, primarily funded by the State Government of Victoria.

A national charity providing all Australians experiencing emotional distress with access to 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services.

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 research archive 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.

People who commit or allegedly commit a crime when aged 10–17 may be dealt with under the youth justice system. Each state and territory in Australia has its own youth justice legislation, policies and practices but the general processes by which young people are charged, and the types of legal orders available to the courts, are similar.

This report investigates opportunities for reform of child justice and related systems across Australia based on children’s rights and sound evidence. The report includes the voices of children and their families, and stakeholder submissions, interviews and roundtables.

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.