Alternative Law Journal

DownUnderAllOver

Developments around the country

DownUnderAllOver is a round-up of legal news from both State and federal jurisdictions, and contains topical articles and short pieces from Alternative Law Journal committees around the country.

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Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission update

Elen Seymour

Federal

On 23 December 2015, the uncertainty surrounding the ongoing existence of the Australian Charities and  Not-for-profits Commission (‘ACNC’) was ended with the release of the Exposure Draft Private Ancillary Fund and Public Ancillary Fund Amendment Guidelines 2015. The Turnbull government intends to amend the existing Guidelines to reflect the introduction of ACNC and the Charities Act, giving the clearest indication to date of federal support for the continuation of the ACNC.

These indications of support for the ACNC are a move away from the Abbott government’s policy, which was to dismantle the ACNC, create a National Centre for Excellence for Civil Society in its stead and return regulatory oversight of the  not–for-profit sector to the Australian Tax Office and Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Abolition was a key part of the Abbott government’s overall deregulation agenda as well as their not-for-profit sector policy. However the Abbott government failed to gain Senate support to pass the necessary legislation to abolish the ACNC by the end of 2014, despite a supportive Senate Inquiry. Until December, however, there had not been a clear statement of policy intent in the wake of this failure, putting the ACNC’s future under a cloud of uncertainty.

Cite as

(2016) 41(1) AltLJ 66

Category: DUAO - 2016 - Vol 41(1)

Changes to domestic violence laws

Anne Macduff

ACT

Around Australia for much of 2015, the failure to address the issue of domestic violence against women was in the public spotlight. The public attention was so intense that by March, the Council of Australian Governments (‘COAG’) agreed that domestic violence was an urgent issue. In May, the Commonwealth launched a national awareness campaign to reduce violence against women and their children. The campaign pledged to spend $30 million over three years on a range of initiatives to ‘drive nation-wide change in the culture, attitudes and behaviours that underpin violence against women and their children.’

Cite as

(2016) 41(1) AltLJ 66

Category: DUAO - 2016 - Vol 41(1)

The Select Committee on the Regulation of Brothels 2015

Penny Crofts and Jason Prior

New South Wales

Just prior to the 2011 election, the NSW Coalition government stated in a press release that it would crack down on illegal brothels by ensuring all brothels were licensed and improve the co-ordination of councils’ compliance officers with authorities such as WorkCover NSW and NSW Health — ‘the best weapon for disrupting and dismantling illegal operations and forcing compliance by licensed operators.’ The primary focus of these promised reforms was crime and corruption associated with the sex industry.

Recently, the Select Committee on the Regulation of Brothels released a report recommending exactly those pre-election commitments made by the Coalition government. Although the Committee expressed strong support for the continued decriminalisation of the sex industry and rejected the Scandinavian approach (which criminalises clients rather than sex workers), the bulk of the report is dominated by a concern about crime.

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(2016) 41(1) AltLJ 66

Category: DUAO - 2016 - Vol 41(1)

Is there a gap in NSW ‘revenge porn’ laws?

Elyse Methven

New South Wales

On 3 March 2016, the NSW Law and Justice Committee (‘the Committee’) is expected to release its report on remedies for the serious invasion of privacy, including for so-called ‘revenge porn’.

The phrase ‘revenge porn’ has come to be associated with the increasingly prevalent and disturbing practice of a disgruntled ex-partner distributing by electronic means, without consent of the former partner (the victim), a picture or video exposing the genital or anal region of the victim (or in the case of a female, her breasts) or depicting the victim engaged in a sexual act. Typically, the picture or video has been initially taken by, or sent to an ex-partner with the consent of the victim, but in some cases the image or video may have been taken surreptitiously and without consent. The images are published and distributed with considerable ease, with specific ‘revenge porn’ websites facilitating their widespread publication.

Cite as

(2016) 41(1) AltLJ 67

Category: DUAO - 2016 - Vol 41(1)

Tenancy law under review

Thomas Mortimer

New South Wales

A comprehensive review of the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (NSW) (‘the Act’) is underway, representing a major opportunity to reform the primary instrument regulating the landlord-tenant relationship in NSW.

The review is a creature of statute. The Act requires the Minister responsible — currently the Minister for Innovation and Better Regulation — to review ‘whether the policy objectives of the Act remain valid and whether the terms of the Act remain appropriate for securing those objectives’ five years after assent.

Cite as

(2016) 41(1) AltLJ 67

Category: DUAO - 2016 - Vol 41(1)