Topics - What's covered - The Laws of Australia
36 subject areas covering over 320 specific topics – explained and contextualised in The Laws of Australia
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The Laws of Australia covers over 320 specific topics across the 36 broad subject areas below. Stating the core principles of the law around a legal topic (emboldened at the start of each paragraph of text) and acting as an explanatory tool or starting point for researching key substantive legislative and case law, The Laws of Australia features over 42,000 legal propositions.
Click on a subject area below to find out more about that Title.
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Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders [ + ]This Title considers how English law and Australian law have dealt with pre-existing rights under Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander law, and refers to modern attempts to achieve resolution of outstanding issues. This Title covers the constitutional status of indigenous Australians, customary law and land law. It also deals with cultural heritage, criminal justice issues and civil justice issues, as well as international law matters and indigenous cultural and intellectual property.
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Administrative Law [ + ]The Centro cases reinforces the need for financial literacy - improve yours with 'Financial Literacy for Lawyers, Directors and Investors' This Title provides an analysis of administrative law, the growth and development of which has been remarkable in recent years. There has been heightened awareness of the importance of this area of law in regulating the relations between the citizen on one hand and the officials and agencies of the state on the other hand. This Title covers the administrative law system, delegated legislation and access to information. It also deals with remedies in judicial review, forms of review and appeal, as well as royal commissions and commissions of inquiry.
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Bankruptcy [ + ]This Title provides an overview of the development of Australian bankruptcy law and the substantive and procedural framework of the federal jurisdiction and administrative structure. This Title covers bankruptcy administration and compulsory and voluntary bankruptcy. It also deals with the effects of bankruptcy, personal insolvency agreements, termination of bankruptcy and debt agreements.
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Business Organisations [ + ]This Title explains the law governing various legal structures adopted in Australia for the conduct of business. It covers company formation, management and finance, reorganisation, takeovers, winding up, non-corporate organisations and financial services regulation.
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Civil Procedure [ + ]This Title explores the principles of the law of civil procedure. It deals with the rules of court as developed through the various Rules and case law. Rules from all jurisdictions are covered, and principle is emphasised rather than mechanics. This Title covers initiating process, service and appearance, as well as pleadings, discovery, and summary dismissal, settlement and discontinuance. It also deals with interlocutory proceedings and preservation of property, trial and execution of judgment, equity proceedings, appeals and limitation of actions.
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Communications [ + ]This Title details the wide-reaching and increasingly significant means of communications regulation, including civil and criminal defamation, injurious falsehood, consumer protection legislation, the press council, telecommunications, radiocommunications and broadcasting.
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Contract: General Principles [ + ]This Title provides extensive commentary on the principles of contract law, which embraces consensual obligations, negotiated and created by parties to an agreement, which are legally enforceable. This Title covers the principles of the formation of a contract, parties, performance, breach and remedies. More common and significant types of contracts are dealt with in Title 8 Contracts: Specific
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Contracts: Specific [ + ]This Title covers common forms of contracts including contracts for agency, real estate agents, building and construction contracts, sale of goods, insurance, government and electronic contracts. It also deals with bailment and guarantees. While specific principles apply to these types of contracts, each contract is subject to the general principles set out in Contract: General Principles.
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Criminal Law Principles [ + ]A comprehensive multi-jurisdictional commentary on Australian criminal laws has never been more needed. Australian criminal laws have reached a stage of great diversity that defies easy summary. However, common foundations bind the basic principles, definition of offences, procedure, appeals and sentencing. This Title covers the criminal laws generally, ancillary liability as well as defences and responsibility.
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Criminal Offences [ + ]A vast sea of criminal offences confronts the modern criminal lawyer. This Title covers homicide, assault, sexual offences, dishonesty offences and property offences. It also deals with offences in relation to drugs, revenue and currency, companies and securities, motor vehicles, public order and the administration of justice.
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Criminal Procedure [ + ]This extensive Title covers not only procedural aspects, but also the preceding investigative process and the admissibility of evidence obtained during investigations. This Title deals with criminal investigation, investigation by independent agencies, bail, summary and committal proceedings, pre-trial and trial procedures, appeals, legal representation, jurisdictional enforcement, confiscation of proceeds of crime and criminal injury compensation.
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Criminal Sentencing [ + ]This Title provides an analysis of sentencing law, which is national in its scope as judicial determinations refocus the law on sentencing with regard to available dispositions, redefined theoretical approaches and tariffs for certain categories of offences and offenders. This Title covers the purpose of sentencing, relevant factors and interpretation of penalty provisions. It details sentencing for specific offences, custodial and non-custodial orders, financial orders, post-custodial orders, restitution and compensation orders, as well as consequences of conviction, inter-jurisdictional enforcement, sentencing of children and sentencing procedure.
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Dispute Resolution [ + ]This Title examines the various dispute resolution processes outside of litigation, used to resolve disputes between parties. It covers dispute resolution processes, mediation and conciliation, expert determination, case management, the mini-trial, dispute systems design and arbitration.
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Environment and Natural Resources [ + ]This Title begins by examining the general principles and basic concepts surrounding environmental law. It provides extensive coverage of the largely legislative based material that governs regulation and treatment of the environment within the States and Territories. This Title provides in-depth coverage of specific categories which include central and regional planning, local planning schemes and compensation, development control, environmental impact assessments and liability for environmental harm. It also deals with biodiversity, cultural heritage, water, forests, fisheries, mining and petroleum.
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Equity [ + ]This Title deals with various aspects and themes of equity, whose role historically has been to modify legal outcomes where a general rule would lead to an unconscionable outcome, to ensure standards of integrity in persons placed in positions of trust, and to provide alternative or supplementary remedies where common law relief is inadequate. The Title covers the history and nature of equity and details of trusts, trustees and fiduciaries. It also covers contribution, subrogation, marshalling, equitable defences, declarations, specific performance, rescission, compensation and damages, injunctions, tracing, taking accounts, delivery up, cancellation and rectification.
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Evidence [ + ]This Title provides a comprehensive overview of the rules of evidence, as they exist at both a common law and statutory level. Jurisdictional differences are outlined, including statutory requirements depending on which court the evidence is presented in. This Title covers the general principles of evidence, proof in civil and criminal cases, testimony and documentary evidence. It also deals with computer produced evidence and privilege and public interest immunity.
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Family Law [ + ]Family Law concerns the regulation of family and domestic relationships, and the resolution of disputes arising from such relationships. This Title details the area of law and relevant issues extensively. It covers marriage and nullity, divorce, domestic violence, the status of children, parental rights and responsibilities, parenting orders, adoption, international child abduction, child welfare and child support. It also deals with maintenance and property issues, injunctions, Family Court order, jurisdiction and professional ethics.
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Finance, Banking and Securities [ + ]This Title offers extensive coverage of financial systems in place at international and domestic levels. It begins with an examination of the definition of currency and basic financial structures such as funds transfer systems, foreign exchange and financial institutions. This Title covers the types of financial institutions and their regulation, negotiable instruments, derivatives, loans and project finance, bank-customer relationships, consumer finance and securities.
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Government [ + ]This Title examines the law and principles which govern the operation of Australia’s federal constitutional system of government. It covers constitutional law, the legislature, executive and judiciary, the federal constitutional system, constitutional guarantees of rights and practice and procedure.
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Health and Guardianship [ + ]This Title sets out the law which relates to the delivery of health care services and the health care relationships (between consumers and providers of health care services). This Title covers health rights and responsibilities, regulation of health care professionals, institutional and professional liabilities, health care authorities and administration, public health, confidentiality and consent. It also deals with mental health and intellectually disabled persons, the regulation of drugs, medical technology, guardianship and administration of property and births, deaths and marriages.
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Human Rights [ + ]This Title provides an overview of Australia’s domestic system of human rights law based on existing international human rights laws and standards. It covers the foundation, development and definition of human rights, civil and political rights, justice, work, discrimination, equality, privacy, life, health and welfare, families, education and human rights machinery.
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Insurance and Income Security [ + ]This Title addresses three topics: insurance, superannuation and social security. Insurance has moved beyond contract law into the realms of policy and government owned or mandated insurance schemes. Social security and superannuation have changed a great deal in recent years from their origins.
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Intellectual Property [ + ]This Title encompasses the law dealing with the grant of exclusive property or property-like rights to the products of the human intellect. This Title covers regimes founded exclusively on statute, such as patents, trademarks, designs, plant breeders’ rights, copyright and circuit layouts and those that are non-statutory in character, such as passing-off and breach of confidence.
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International Trade [ + ]International trade law is becoming an increasingly relevant area of law in today's globalised economy. This Title covers customs and excise, foreign investment, international business transactions and international taxation.
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Interpretation [ + ]The law of interpretation is both well-established and rapidly emerging as an increasingly significant area of law. This newly revised Title covers Australian domestic law, private documents, international law and judicial statements.
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Labour Law [ + ]Labour law is a broad concept encapsulating a wide range of legislative, common law and equitable principles. It is highly political in many respects (and hence subject to ongoing change) and highly litigated. Its social context is obvious and it is a legal area that is often charged with controversy. This Title covers individual employment and the law in relation to discrimination, occupational health and safety and workers compensation. It also deals with the structure and function of industrial relations systems, awards, collective agreements and regulation of industrial organisations and disputes.
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Professional Liability [ + ]This Title covers the principles of liability and negligence which may be invoked against professionals, arising under contract, tort, trade practices and fair trading legislation, criminal offences and fiduciary duty; and how these are applied in various professional contexts. The professions covered include medical practitioners, legal practitioners, auditors, accountants, bankers, brokers, architects and engineers, valuers and government authorities. The standard of care required by professionals in each of these categories is examined, as well as defences and damages involved.
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Real Property [ + ]This Subtitle provides a comprehensive coverage of the law governing property rights, beginning with historical development and extending to specific, modern day rights. It covers general principles, old system and Torrens title, future interests and the rule against perpetuities, the landlord-tenant relationship, retail and residential tenancies, retirement villages, strata and group titles, licences, easements, restrictive covenants, possession, land acquisition and sale of land.
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Restitution [ + ]Research on the topic of restitution often brings a reader to the areas of equity, quasi-contracts, contracts or procedures. Restitution, however, is concerned with more than just implied contracts, equity, money counts or procedures. This Title covers both common law and equity, uniting the historical divide between them.
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Restrictive Trade Practices [ + ]The Law of restrictive trade practices is unique, in that every private action has public consequences. The essence of trade is choice. This means that competition is critically important to trade, for without competition, choice is limited. Competition must therefore be preserved and trade practices which restrict competition must be outlawed for both the private and public good. This Title thoroughly covers the statutory and common law relating to how competition is preserved.
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Revenue Law [ + ]The Title provides a valuable guide to the legislative framework of taxation law in Australia, supported by cross-references to Thomson Reuters’ Australian Tax Handbook and related TLA Subtitles where appropriate. This Title contains commentary on remuneration, superannuation and super funds, income from business and property, tax deductions, tax accounting and trading stock, capital gains, partnerships and trusts, companies and shareholders, international tax, stamp duties and GST, administration, planning and anti-avoidance measures, calculation of tax payable.
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Sport and Leisure [ + ]This Title provides insight into the multitude of legal issues that effect sport both as an entertainment mechanism and recreational pursuit. This Title covers sporting structure and event management, disciplinary tribunals and administrative procedures, dispute resolution, liability and discrimination in sport.
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Torts [ + ]A tort, or “wrong”, is an interference with another’s right, title or interest, without legal justification. The principle remedy for all torts is an award of damages, although an injunction may be available. Accordingly, torts are as varied as the rights and interests they purport to protect. This title covers tort and contract, negligence, occupiers’ liability, product liability, nuisance, trespass and intentional torts and breach of statutory duty. It also deals with concurrent torts, strict liability, defences and damages.
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Transport [ + ]This Title provides an in-depth introduction to all aspects of carriage law in relation to land, sea and air transport, civil aviation law, maritime and shipping law as well as admiralty law.
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Unfair Dealing [ + ]This Title considers a broad range of doctrines and links them under the unifying theme of unfair dealing. This Title covers misleading or deceptive conduct, misrepresentation, improper business practices, remedies and the notion of unconscionability. It also deals with estoppel, duress, undue influence and unconscionable dealing.
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Wills and Estate Administration [ + ]This Title examines aspects of the law of wills and their validity, the family provision jurisdiction and laws, as well as the administration of assets of deceased estates.