While there have been many different studies on public inquiries, Royal Commissions and Public Inquiries in Australia provides the most comprehensive and up-to-date overview of public inquiries in Australia. It is based on rigorous and in-depth analysis spanning several decades, and has required patient and painstaking work in defining and identifying different federal public inquiries and monitoring their performance over the last 100 years. ROYAL COMMISSIONS AND PUBLIC INQUIRIES IN AUSTRALIA will be of interest to all who seek to better understand the particular role of public inquiries and what their continued appointment tells us about trends in Australian government generally.' From the Foreword by Professor John Wanna, The Sir John Bunting Professor of Public Administration, Australian National University. ROYAL COMMISSIONS AND PUBLIC INQUIRIES IN AUSTRALIA provides the first comprehensive overview of the extent, use and impact of Commonwealth public inquiries appointed since 1901. Specifically, this new book:* defines 'public inquiries,' and delineates them from other advisory bodies;* details trends in public inquiry numbers since Federation and compares these to overseas jurisdictions;* classifies the different types and forms of public inquiries;* explains public inquiry procedures, powers and associated legislation;* analyses why public inquiries are appointed and their roles in the political system;* assesses their impact on public policy; and,* explores the continuing and future roles of public inquiries. Covering public inquiries appointed by the Commonwealth government since Federation, particular attention is given to those public inquiries appointed during the last thirty years, when inquiry numbers increased markedly. References to numerous inquiries throughout the book are supplemented by detailed case studies of key public inquiries, including royal commissions and appointed by different governments. This authoritative book has been written by an expert in the field. Lecturer Dr Scott Prasser has worked in federal and state governments in senior policy and research advisory positions. ROYAL COMMISSIONS AND PUBLIC INQUIRIES IN AUSTRALIA will be a valuable reference for those interested in a widely used, but often neglected, advisory instrument of modern government that continues to influence many areas of public policy.

Now in its 26th year of publication, the fifth edition of Advocacy in Practice is an authoritative and reliable guide for professionals to the art of advocacy. This highly esteemed work has once again been written by the authoritative and well-respected author James L Glissan, QC, and provides useful and practical checklists for examination, cross and address. It also details when and what objections may be taken, and constructive hints and techniques for dealing with difficult witnesses, opponents and judges. Restored to this edition are the classic cross-examinations from great advocates of the past, as well as a new chapter on general techniques of advocacy, which enlarge the scope of the work beyond the practising lawyer to encompass all areas of practical advocacy.

This volume provides a comprehensive analysis of the work of the The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (2013-17) and its social, psychological, legal and discursive impact.

Investigating Corruption and Misconduct in Public Office Second Edition provides accessible, authoritative and practical information about anti-corruption agencies. It discusses the substantive principles underpinning propriety and impropriety, public office and corruption. It complements this coverage with practical principles, techniques and strategies for investigating and preventing corruption. Upon its initial publication in 2004, this work quickly became a significant point of reference in relation to the laws, principles, jurisdictional structure and practical operation of anti-corruption legislation and agencies in Australia. This long-awaited Second Edition has been significantly restructured and updated. It reflects more than a decade of activity by commissions of inquiry and state-based crime commissions, and by governments legislating in relation to public integrity, public trust obligations, corruption offences, organized crime and other matters. Features include expert analysis of the common law, legislative schemes for public corruption investigation and prevention bodies (such as the ICAC), and detailed analysis of the powers, investigative processes, and methodologies of corruption investigation.

This report represents the culmination of a nine month inquiry by the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) into the operation of the provisions of the Royal Commissions Act 1902 (Cth), and the question of whether an alternative form or forms of Commonwealth executive inquiry should be established by statute. The Royal Commissions Act was one of 59 statutes enacted by the first Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. This Inquiry is the first comprehensive review of the Act in its 107 year history.

Royal commissions and permanent commissions of inquiry.

In the aftermath of major crises governments turn to public inquiries to learn lessons. Inquiries often challenge established authority, frame heroes and villains in the public spotlight and deliver courtroom-like drama to hungry journalists. As such, they can become high-profile political stories in their own right. Inquiries also have a policy learning mandate with big implications because they are ultimately responsible for identifying policy lessons which, if implemented, should keep us safe from the next big event. However, despite their high-profile nature and their position as the pre-eminent means of learning about crises, we still know very little about what inquiries produce in terms of learning and what factors influence their effectiveness in this regard. In light of this, the question that animates this book is as important as it is simple. Can post-crisis inquiries deliver effective lesson-learning which will reduce our vulnerability to future threats? Conventional wisdom suggests that the answer to this question should be an emphatic no. Outside of the academy, for example, inquiries are regularly vilified as costly wastes of time that illuminate very little while inside social scientists echo similar concerns, regularly describing inquiries as unhelpful. These commentaries, however, lack robust, generalizable evidence to support their claims. This volume provides evidence from the first international comparison of post-crisis inquiries in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, which shows that, contrary to conventional wisdom, the post-crisis inquiry is an effective means of policy learning after crises and that they consistently encourage policy reforms that enhance our resilience to future threats.

This inquiry, which began in April 2003, examined measures to safeguard classified and security sensitive information during court or tribunal proceedings, or in the course of other investigations including those relating to criminal prosecutions, civil suits, immigration matters or freedom of information applications ... the ALRCs̉ recommendations were tabled in federal Parliament on 23 June 2004.