Premium Essay

Australian Justice System Analysis

Submitted By
Words 732
Pages 3
It is often questioned as to whether the Australian justice system is fair, affordable and accessible. However, for many citizens, the legal system is failing on all fronts. Key issues faced by the justice system include equity under the rule of law, barriers to equal justice, eligibility for the poor or disadvantaged and financial burden placed on those seeking a just outcome through the Australian justice system. Each of these issues hinder individuals seeking justice. By understanding these issues and addressing them from a proper standpoint, improvements can be made and solutions can be found.

It is a core principle of the rule of law that justice must be equally accessible by all Australians (Ellis 2013). The term ‘access to justice’ …show more content…
Justice is defined as the quality of being just, impartial, or to receive a fair outcome after a dispute (Australian Law Reform Commission [ALRC] 2017). It is used to evaluate the law or legal system between two parties to determine a fair outcome (ALRC 2017). People can come in contact with the legal system for many reasons, this can include domestic violence, debt or mortgage stress, tenancy or employment disputes, and crime (ALRC 2017). Commonly, there are three levels of justice in the criminal justice system (CJS). These include the use of everyday justice, which is managing disputes without any legal assistance (Ellis 2013). Resolving disputes through informal justice, which commonly includes a third party involving professional legal advice; and resolving a dispute through formal justice; this includes the assistance of lawyers and courts (ALRC …show more content…
The barriers that people face when accessing justice are well identified by academics and practitioners. Some of these barriers include delay, restrictive legal aid eligibility and financial barriers (ALRC 2017). A person who is classed as poor or disadvantaged is defined as someone who faces problems such as receiving a low income or economic support or suffers from a physical and/or mental disability (Australian Human Rights Commission [AHRC] 2014). Individuals that fall under this category tend to experience various inequalities that violate their human rights, including the difficulties in accessing legal assistance (AHRC 2014). As Flynn (2013) mentions, it is a basic human right for a person to be entitled to freedom and equal access to justice, this includes having access to the support services that are necessary to achieve this. Equal access to justice seems to be a major issue when it comes to people with intellectual disabilities (Flynn 2013). People with disabilities who require communication and other support services, often have complex experiences when they come in contact with the CJS. This can involve issues such as not being capable of giving evidence, trouble communicating with legal professionals, and being unable to participate in legal proceedings (AHRC 2014). As a result, many people with intellectual disabilities

Similar Documents

Free Essay

Feminist

...In the traditional study of crime, women have generally been perceived as disregarded and discriminated in the criminal justice system. Various stereotypes and assumptions about females in the criminal justice system, saw feminist perspectives challenge the theories, concepts and assumptions of those involved in the study of crime (Bryant, 2014). This essay begins by firstly providing a brief description and its origins, how feminist theories causes crime, how its theory defines crime, the multiple feminist perspectives within feminism and how feminist criminology attempts to combat crime. It will then discuss the relevance and how feminist theory influences the criminal justice system, such as women’s role as professionals, as well as women as offenders and victims (Schram & Tibbetts 2013, p. 285). Finally, this essay will examine the applicability to Australian society by exploring if the suggested causes of crime apply to Australian society. It will lastly draw on the criticisms of feminist criminology and how the different types of feminist perspectives lessons the relevance of this theory in Australian society. Outlining the theory Feminist criminology first developed in the 1960’s and 1970’s which was closely associated with the emergence of the Second Wave of Feminism (White, Haines & Asquith 2012, p. 143). The Second Wave of Feminism saw the advent of many issues such as social, political and material inequalities (White, Haines & Asquith 2012, p. 143). Because men...

Words: 2292 - Pages: 10

Premium Essay

Australian Law

...provisions in the constitution. According to Mark Tunshets,( Jones, Ian. The anisminic revolution in Australian administrative law: an analysis of extended jurisdictional error. Turramurra, N.S.W.: Local Legal, 1998. Print.) Judicial review in Australia has a lot of authority since it is only the high court that can interpret the constitution. Judicial review in Australia is complicated by clause 5 of the constitution. This clause provides that all the amendments done by the commonwealth parliament are binding to Australia. This is because the courts mandated to interpret the law must decide if the law is binding to Australia (Canberra, 2005). The chief justice Marshall asserted that judicial review is incredibly paramount in the Australian legal system(Fordham, Michael. Judicial review handbook. 5th ed. Oxford: Portland, OR :, 2008. Print.). In 1951, justice Fellugar proposed that the principle of Madison v. Marbury is adopted as axiomatic(Johnston, Richard E.. The effect of judicial review on federal-state relations in Australia, Canada, and the United States. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1969. Print.). This is because the many criticisms of the principle were accepted and justified. Despite an express implication in the constitution of Australia, judges and scholars have proposed that judicial review is paramount and has immense effects on the legal system. Judicial review is mostly done by the high courts since it is at the top...

Words: 2684 - Pages: 11

Premium Essay

Admin Law Essay

...The following paper will examine the elements of procedural fairness apparent in tribunals and compare this to that of the court system, ultimately coming to a tentative conclusion on the efficacy of each. A broad spectrum of academic literature, case law and legislation has been considered to evaluate the role that tribunals have in the Australian legal system. In light of Kerr J’s remark (above), find and critically analyse a case which considers issues of procedural fairness in a tribunal hearing. The case of Ashmore v Commissioner for Superannuation primarily concerned the decisions to not recognise late election and to not grant an extension of time relating to the preservation of the applicant’s superannuation benefit. At the initial hearing in which the applicant (Carolyn Ashmore) gave oral evidence, only one senior member was present, contrary to the stipulations of the Superannuation Act that the Tribunal be constituted of three members, one of whom is an eligible employee or pensioner. The hearing was then reconstituted with three members, and a transcript of the applicant’s oral evidence was used to ascertain her credibility. Ultimately the Tribunal formed a negative opinion of the applicant’s evidence, leading them to rule against her. By relying on a transcript of Ashmore’s evidence, it was determined by Justice Moore that the other two tribunal members could have been influenced, albeit unintentionally, by the negative bias from the senior member present at the...

Words: 2850 - Pages: 12

Premium Essay

Criminology

...punishable by the government through imprisonment or paying bail, crimes range from petty crimes such as pick pocketing to capital crime such as murder or robbery with violence Policy making in Australia is affected by many factors including public perception .policies in criminal justice are used to determine the kind of punishment that is to be given to offenders, its also used to classify the degree and severity of crimes and also allocating the required resource to the criminal justice agencies. Using public perception to make policy can lead to bad policy formulation this is because there is a huge discrepancy that exists between the actual crimes committed and what the public holds as the rate of crime in their country. This is true in Australia where people perceive that crime is on the increase while in the actual sense its declining (Rex & Tonry 2002; Roberts & Indermaur 2009), the same pattern was also reported in the united states during the last decade (Maguire & Pastore 1999). In Australia the elderly, women and illiterate people believe that crime rate is increasing compared to men and the literate who believe otherwise (Indermaur & Roberts 2005) In 2007 according to Australian bureau of statistics (2008) murders reported were less than in 1998 this showed a decline in crime rate. Crime rate in police records do not usually tally with the view being held by the public (rex & tonry 2002). Studies conducted show that majority of people believe that...

Words: 1962 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Dignity and Maximum Participation

...of the human right of liberty though? CHCAD603A – Undertake Systems Advocacy CHCAD603A – Undertake Systems Advocacy Human rights are for every human; Prisoners are human too. A prisoner is deprived of the human right of liberty though? Where is the line when they are deprived of one are they deprived on any other human rights directly or indirectly? This essay explores the issues and basic human rights of an adult who is incarcerated and an analysis of structural, political and social factors which play their part in maintaining discrimination against this group and how they are discriminated against. Issues which affect adults in prison and how these affect the individual, community, society and government policy with examples of issues that have changed and how advocacy has been used to create change. The introduction of policies that have arisen as a result of identified issues and how they relate to Human rights will be another focus in this essay. There is a “Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners” guidelines which are an adaption to the Universal Human Rights charter specifically for those who are incarcerated. An example of this is rule 57 “Imprisonment and other measures, which result in cutting off an offender from the outside world, are afflictive by the very fact of taking from the person the right of self-determination by depriving him/her of his/her liberty. Therefore the prison system shall not, except as incidental to justifiable segregation...

Words: 1594 - Pages: 7

Free Essay

Hindi Ka Nag-Iisa

...clarification of the original meaning of multiculturalism as adopted in Austria. By means of a careful review of theoretically relevant literature and through different sociologist views about multiculturalism. This study seeks clarification about what will happen to Australian if they embrace multiculturalism. The purpose of this study is to know the main goal of multiculturalism in Australian. Apparatus and Procedure Results The clarification about the confusions of multiculturalism is not clear. The study is ended up in wide comparative analysis, comparing the outcomes in societies when Australian embraced the multiculturalism. After studying the possible outcomes of multiculturalism the Australian interpreted the multiculturalism as a form of ‘social contract’ between the majority and the diverse minorities. And the ‘social contract’ is about the majority accepts and protect minorities, affirms cultural differences and supports a degree of the majority. Law, justice system, parliamentary democracy and market economy is involves in the ‘social contract’. Conclusion This paper suggests that multicultural has good effect in Australian. Multiculturalism’s main goal is to respect the diversity in Australia. Australian multiculturalism has always been ‘reciprocal’ in the sense of promoting both rights and duties/obligations. These rights are spelt out in a more explicit manner, including ‘the freedom to choose and maintain one’s own cultural identity’. Multiculturalism involves...

Words: 402 - Pages: 2

Free Essay

Stuff

...This is a solution to iiNet Case Study and goes through a stakeholder analysis. The iiNet case created widespread interest among the public in Australia, as well as abroad, due to its benchmark setting and ruling that was handed down by Justice Cowdroy, declaring that the internet service provider (ISP) did not authorise the infringements of copyright of its users. The use of the BitTorrent system for sharing large files relates to the speed of data transfer available to users on the internet. Where large files are concerned, it is harder for these to be shared if the regular transfer speeds are utilised and the normal system are the medium used to complete the transfer. Hence, the developers of the BitTorrent system devised a program that could be used to allow users to share these large resources with ease. The case in the Federal Court was to decide the responsible authority allowing users to share resources that are copyrighted by third parties. In essence, the primary concern was the sharing of movies that were owned by large film production companies like Sony, Universal and Warner Brothers, as well as the piracy of original prints which cause a loss of revenue for all parties concerned with the industry. The other key player in court representing all those affected by the copyright violation was AFACT, which provided a consolidated representation of over 50,000 Australian involved in the entertainment business. Both AFACT and the production companies held iiNet, one...

Words: 836 - Pages: 4

Premium Essay

The Pros And Cons Of Law Reform

...This process is known as law Reform, in which the law undergoes modifications and shaping over time to better reflect social values which society believes are of crucial importance in relation to the development or success. The legal system ensures that the law stays current so it ensures a high rate of compliance whilst also making the legal system modern. Laws need to be changed to provide greater access to the law. The recent changes to the Telecommunications Act are an example of this need for change to assist the law. This reform came to being because of the changing business models and technology. It was also updated to help combat criminal activity. The Telecommunications companies were not retaining information for a long enough period to assist with criminal activity cases, preventing perpetrators from being brought to...

Words: 1052 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Hih Collapse

...ABSTRACT Auditing disclosures play an important role within accounting reports as they provide a level of assurance to the users (public). These disclosures will be discussed in light of the collapse of Health International Holdings (HIH). The HIH collapse warranted a Royal Commission investigation and also recorded the biggest corporate collapse in Australia's history. Corporate failures of similar magnitude such as Enron and Parmalat have occurred elsewhere and sparked large scale investigation and media scrutiny. In all of these corporate failures, the level or absence of disclosure has had a lot to do with the unexpectedness of the collapse. This paper analyses the HIH collapse within a Foucaldian framework to demonstrate the need for accountants and auditors to work together so as to avoid criticism of the profession arising from unexpected corporate failures in the future. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to analyse the collapse of HIH and the role of its auditor, Andersen, within a Foucauldian framework encompassing archeology and genealogy of power and knowledge. The mythical Jedi force is used as a metaphor for power attained by the accounting profession through its claim to superior knowledge and skill to be applied in the public interest. Accordingly, the force includes professional ethics. The dark side is used as a metaphor for the collapse of HIH because accounting standards and practices, the accounting profession's power base, were used to conceal...

Words: 7735 - Pages: 31

Premium Essay

Global Crime Analysis

...Global Crimes Analysis University of Phoenix Cynthia Butler CJA/394 April 16, 2012 This paper will identify the various major global crimes and criminal issues that affect national and international criminal justice systems and processes. In addition, there will be a comparison and contrast of the different criminal justice systems and how they have addressed major global crimes and criminal issues. Global crime is an issue that threatens the safety and security of people all over the world. Global crime can be international drug smuggling operations, human trafficking, or international prostitution rings. Weapons trading are also a problem that exists all over the world. There are always concerns of rogue nations selling nuclear weapons to other nations that do not follow the guidelines of the world community. In the international community, human trafficking has become an issue that is spiraling out of control. The "International Trafficking" (2010) website cites that victims of this crime are usually trafficked both within the countries borders and inside other countries borders. Human trafficking happens in different ways, sex trafficking occurs all over the world, while Burma traffics children to be soldiers. The trafficking crimes are not contained to other countries as Florida has been known to have forced labor practices within the citrus fields. Lucas (2011) addresses the difficulties in securing weapons caches that can be...

Words: 1150 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Aboriginal Education in Country Schools

...Research and government policy is now attempting to address these issues. Through culturally sensitive policies of inclusion, and focused strategies embedding Indigenous perspectives in education models, progress is possible towards alleviating the current poor state of Indigenous students in the Australian school system. The State of Aboriginal Education All young Australians are entitled to equal educational opportunity. Until Indigenous Australians can choose from the same range of futures as other Australians, we are not achieving our nation’s promise as a democratic society (Kemp, D. in METYA, 2000, pg. 3). Aboriginal people have been described as the most educationally disadvantaged group of people within Australia (ATSISJC, 1995). Their attendance rates across all levels of education are lower than those of non-Indigenous Australia (ABS, 2006). Poverty, health problems, infant mortality, infectious diseases, and a life expectancy that is between 15 to 20 years lower are all major factors adversely affecting their education potential (ATSISJC 1995; ABS, 2006). This essay will review strategies from government and private sectors regarding Aboriginal students in Australian schools. It will evaluate and propose effective approaches towards minimising detentions, absenteeism and suspensions; while providing suggestions for attaining an equity of access, participation and outcomes for Aboriginal students. Literature Review...

Words: 1829 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Australia as a Classless Society

...“Australia is a Classless Society” Discuss. It is this ideal that has in fact attracted many migrants to Australia over the course of its history. This essay will discuss some of the theories and definitions of class, then examine how they relate to Australian society, and whether Australia does indeed have a class system, arguing that in many ways, it does. It will discuss people’s perception of classes and their position in them, mobility between classes, and the impact of class on health, education and crime. It will show that there is a direct correlation between class and the level of crime, the health of an individual and the level of education attained. At its federation in 1901 the new nation of Australia was founded on principles of equality, although as Belinda Probert points out in her lecture ‘Class in 2001’, (Probert, 2001) this equality did not extend to women, Aborigines or people from non Anglo races. This egalitarian belief was founded on the notion of a fair and decent wage, an ideal proposed by Justice Higgins of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration in 1907, when he set the first minimum weekly wage. This wage 1 was to reflect the cost of living, the amount of money required by an average person for the basic necessities of life; food and water, housing and clothing. This was called the Harvester Judgment. What is class? It is a division in society of a group of people who all have a similar social and economic status. For Karl Marx this...

Words: 1957 - Pages: 8

Premium Essay

Bugmy V The Queen Summary

...Introduction This paper will critically analyze the case of Bugmy v The Queen (2013) 249 CLR 571 (Bugmy v The Queen) examining the High Court rejection of the appellant’s submissions that ‘…sentencing courts should take into account the “unique circumstances of all Aboriginal offenders” as relevant to the moral culpability of an individual Aboriginal offender,’ and that ‘…courts should take into account the high rate of incarceration of Aboriginal Australians when sentencing an Aboriginal offender.’ The grant of special leave in, Bugmy v The Queen had provided occasion for the High Court to rule on the significance of Indigenous background in sentencing in relation to other sentencing considerations. The analysis will consider the elements of...

Words: 1141 - Pages: 5

Premium Essay

Australian Legal System in Context

...AUSTRALIAN LEGAL SYSTEM IN CONTEXT BLB1101 Semester 1 2014 Table of contents Topic Page number Unit rationale and learning outcomes 3 Calendars – lectures and tutorial workshops 4 Tutorial workshop exercises 5-11 Assessment information 12-23 Assessment tasks 12 Part 1 – VCAT and Applied law 12 Part 2 – VCAT and Contextual analysis 13 Hypothetical Case Studies 15 • Residential Tenancies List 15 • Planning and Environment List 18 • Anti-Discrimination list 20 Assessment criteria 22 Reading guide 24-28 Su Robertson, Unit Coordinator su.robertson@vu.edu.au 9919 1823 Unit rationale BLB1101 Australian Legal System in Context: • Provides you with a working foundation in the technical structure of Australian legal systems, using applied practical teaching and learning methods; • Exposes you to ways of making sense of Australian legal systems in a legal academic way using the themes of economics, sustainability, race and gender; • Inducts you in the ways of the lawyer, including appropriate language use and structure, ethics and legal professional behaviour, using reflective, applied and theory-based teaching and learning methods. Learning outcomes Upon successful completion of BLB1101, you will: • Be able to identify and understand the components of Australian legal systems, how these components intersect and interact, and how lawyers use these systems; • Be able to identify and use the language...

Words: 9050 - Pages: 37

Free Essay

Accounting Practice Legislations, Procedures and Policy Report

...Accounting Practice Legislations, Procedures and policy Report Introduction This report contains detail compliance analysis of the Accounting Practice, which undertakes Accounting and Bookkeeping services for Travel agent. The Agent provides Community services as well, along with day to day Travels and Tour services such as overseas workers sponsorship, Manage Payroll for overseas workers and provides Money transfer. This report outlines the regulations and the practice procedures and Manuals and also outlines the compliance with AUSTRAC regulations. Procedures Community services policies and procedures This Accounting firm has in place policies and procedures that govern and regulate privacy and confidentiality of client information. This concept not only applies to what you can disclose about your clients or your organisations outside of work, but also what can be shared in network meetings. What information can be shared with other organisations, who shares it and how this information is given out should be clearly defined in any effective, professional service. It is often incorporated into a worker’s duty statement or job description. This practice has developed and written policy and procedures, and staff training in the following areas: * a confidentiality policy * a clearly defined process for identifying and regularly updating a Community Resource Index so that all workers are aware of what other services are available to refer to * processes...

Words: 1023 - Pages: 5