Are Cyclists in NSW Required to Wear Helmets?
Remember when you were young, you’d jump on your bicycle and go for a ride to the park, to a friend’s place or to the park? Not a care in the world, using your handy companion to get from place...
Your Legal Rights and Responsibilities in Public Places
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras will soon be in full swing, with glitter, tassels and jockstraps flying off shelves like hotcakes as revellers gear up for the fabulous Oxford Street parade on the 29th of February. As with...
Who Can See My Criminal Record?
One of the most common concerns defendants have in criminal cases is the impact of a conviction on their future, including their current or future employment and travel plans. The following is a basic outline of the rules when it...
Should Accused Sex Offenders Be Allowed to Use Dating Apps?
The ABC’s Background Briefing recently aired a story about the use of dating apps by sexual offenders. It described a case whereby a man used the dating app Tinder to lure victims before sexually assaulting them. The spiel on the...
Books, Cartoons and Dolls Can Amount to ‘Child Pornography’
Sexual offences involving children incite the highest levels of public condemnation. A conviction relating to child pornography – now referred to as ‘child abuse material’ under most laws – can affect not only a person’s freedom, but tarnish them for...
Imprisoning the Innocent: The Causes of Wrongful Convictions in Australia
‘It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer’. These words of 18th century English jurist William Blackstone resonate just as loudly today as they did back then in relation to the magnitude of the injustice...
Are All Body Modifications Legal in Australia?
From horn implants to split tongues and scrotal injections - extreme forms of body art, sometimes called ‘body modifications’, are becoming increasingly popular and gaining greater social acceptance. But Australian law doesn’t seem to be keeping up with changing attitudes...
Is Possessing Pornography Permitted In Prison?
According to some estimates, around three quarters of men (76%) and over one-third of women (41%) regularly view pornographic material. However, there remains one place where consumption of porn is strictly prohibited: prison. Pornography is currently banned across Australian prisons,...
Which Crimes Are Most Frequently Detected in Australia?
The common populist phrase ‘if you do the crime, you should do the time’ suggests that those who commit criminal offences should be caught and prosecuted – regardless of how trivial or outdated the offence may be, or how futile...
Should I tell my lawyer the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?
When engaging a criminal defence lawyer, clients are sometimes unsure about how much to say at the first meeting - concerned that telling their lawyers everything all at once could make it harder to achieve the best possible outcome. Indeed,...
