Law Report
From courtroom dramas to miscarriages of justice, to how the law affects you — and so much more. The Law Report is your accessible guide to the big legal stories unfolding in Australia and across the world.
Latest episodes
Jun 17, 2025 • 29min
NSW flood insurance crisis; Marking 50 years of Australia's Racial Discrimination Act
Huge property loss is upending the lives of communities in flood-hit parts of New South Wales — what's happening to the rise in insurance claims in areas prone to flooding? And a look back at 50 years of the Australian Racial Discrimination Act.
Jun 10, 2025 • 29min
How art is transforming the lives of First Nations prisoners
Can art change lives? Confined 16 is an exhibition in Melbourne of First Nations artists who picked up the paint brush while they were in prison.
Jun 3, 2025 • 29min
The case for stronger whistleblower protections in Australia
The return of high-profile whistleblowing cases to court has renewed calls for legislative reform in Australia to better protect, provide oversight and support to, those who expose wrongdoing in the public and private sectors.
May 27, 2025 • 29min
The mushroom murder trial; Tasmanian supermarket sued for banning entry to 'therapy alpaca'
A Victorian woman is on trial accused of poisoning her lunch guests by serving them a meal laced with death cap mushrooms. And a Tasmanian couple banned from taking their alpaca into a supermarket is accusing the store of disability discrimination.
May 20, 2025 • 29min
"What's in your drugs?": Pill testing at music events
Does pill testing save lives? Damien Carrick visits a pop-up service at a Melbourne music event where substances are checked, and staff talk to partygoers about reducing risk when using drugs.
May 13, 2025 • 29min
Queensland reviews strangulation offence
In 2016, Queensland was the first Australian jurisdiction create a stand-alone offence of non-fatal strangulation. Since then, every other state and territory has followed its lead - most recently Victoria. Almost a decade on, the Queensland Law Reform Commission is conducting an inquiry into the offence.
May 6, 2025 • 29min
Labor's election landslide; How companies use AI tools to disqualify job applicants
What's behind the Labor Party's overwhelming election victory? And can AI-based technology be used to discriminate against job applicants?
Apr 29, 2025 • 29min
How family law courts deal with disputes over gender affirming hormone therapy for children
Two recent court decisions could help shape the debate, and perhaps the law, on when children can be given puberty blockers and cross-sex hormone therapy.
Apr 22, 2025 • 29min
Federal Court Chief Justice Debbie Mortimer on open justice in the digital age
The Hon. Debbie Mortimer, Chief Justice of the Federal Court of Australia, joins Damien Carrick in a conversation about live streaming court cases, suppression orders and access to court documents.
Apr 15, 2025 • 28min
High Court upholds Queensland's "no body, no parole" laws; Endangered glider possums in court
A Queensland man convicted of murder has failed to convince the High Court to strike out laws that were used to deny him parole for refusing to cooperate with authorities searching for one of his victims. And the fate of endangered forest glider possums could be a little safer following a ruling that allows a community environmental group to prosecute the Forestry Corporation of New South Wales.
