Law Reform Commissions
Law Reform Commissions are tasked by Government, and in Victoria the community, to research areas of law and make recommendations.
The Australian Law Reform Commission makes recommendations that:
- bring the law into line with current conditions and needs
- remove defects in the law
- simplify the law
- adopt new or more efficient methods for administering the law and dispensing justice, and
- provide improved access to justice.
(Source: http://www.alrc.gov.au/about - accessed 4 February 2020)
The Victorian Law Reform Commission seeks to make recommendations which are practical, fairer, more up-to-date and accessible and draw on experiences in other states and territories.
Finding Commonwealth, State and Territory Law Reform Commission publications online
Law reform commission reports and papers are publicly available on the individual law reform websites:
- Australian Law Reform Commission
- Victorian Law Reform Commission
- New South Wales Law Reform Commission
- Law Reform Commission of Western Australia
- Queensland Law Reform Commission
- South Australian Law Reform Institute
- Tasmania Law Reform Institute
- Northern Territory Law Reform Committee
Law Reform Commission publications on AustLII
Law reform commission publications, from the following jurisdictions, are publicly available on Australasian Law Reform Library on AustLII:
- Australia
- Australian Capital Territory
- New South Wales
- Northern Territory
- Queensland
- Tasmania
- Victoria
Law Reform Commission publications on Hein Online
Law reform commission publications, from the following jurisdictions, are available in the Australian Law Reform Commission Library on Hein Online (Deakin authorised users only)
- Australia
- New South Wales
- Victoria
Finding UK Law Reform Commission publications
Law Commission website
Reports, consultation papers and other documents published by the Law Commission since 1 January 1995 are available on the Law Commission website. Earlier reports back to 1965 are available on the BAILII website.
UK Parliamentary Papers (UK Parliamentary Archives)
A selection of House of Commons and House of Lords parliamentary papers, including Command Papers, are available on the UK Parliamentary Archives website.
Print copies of UK Law Commission reports
Some Australian libraries hold print series of historical UK Law Commission reports. Holdings are searchable on TROVE. If you are unable to source a specific report online, you can submit an inter-library loan request through Deakin Library.
Other international Law Reform Commission resources
- New Zealand Law Commission
- Law Commission (England and Wales)
- Scottish Law Commission
- Law Reform Commission of Ireland
- Uniform Law Commission (aka National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (USA)
- Law Reform Project (law reform publications on Legal Information Institutes)
Finding print copy Law Reform Commission publications
The preferred access method is online. Many of the bodies listed above provide access to all the types of publications associated with a project from the beginning (background and issues papers) to submissions, consultation and discussion papers, and the final report.
For law reform commission publications not available online, Deakin Library may have the publications in print. These are usually reports from the 1970s and 1980s. Locate in the catalogue using an author search (name of commission), title (if known) or subject, e.g.:
Citing Law Reform Commission publications
Citation of Law Reform Commission publications is covered by AGLC4's rule 7.1.4.