Legal Cases, Legislation, Media Files

Question 1

Act which sets out the powers of the
Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and governs consumer protection in relation to financial services, protects consumers by ensuring that market participants act with integrity.

Answer 1

Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001 (Cth)

Question 2

Act and code which provide laws which apply with equal force to all forms of consumer lending and to all credit providers, and which are consistent across all jurisdictions in Australia.

Answer 2

National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth) and the National Credit Code

Question 3

2021 amendment to the Credit Act.

Answer 3

National Consumer Credit Protection Amendment (Mandatory Credit Reporting and Other Measures) Act 2021

Question 4

Non-Legal Avenues to resolve credit issues include.

Answer 4

NSW Fair Trading
Community Justice Centres
Financial Ombudsman Service Australia FInancial Rights Legal Centre
Redfern Legal Centre

Question 5

National act in Australia that aims to promote fair trading, competition, and consumer protection.

Answer 5

Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth)

Question 6

Main law covering business behaviour in New South Wales.

Answer 6

Fair Trading Act 1987 (NSW)

Question 7

Article about the temporary ban of hoverboards.

Answer 7

“Hoverboard controversy after fire in Australia” (New Zealand Herald)

Question 8

Act which prevents distribution of unsolicited emails and messages domestically.

Answer 8

Spam Act 2003 (Cth)

Question 9

Act which regulates telecommunications in Australia.

Answer 9

Telecommunications Act 1997 (Cth)

Question 10

Article about the ACCC putting pressure on social media platforms concerning scams and anti-competitive behaviour.

Answer 10

“Australia’s consumer watchdog calls for new laws to stop scams and rein in anti-competitive behaviour online” (The Guardian)

Question 11

Consumer watchdogs for frauds include:

Answer 11

Choice
Smartwatch
Australian Communications and Media Authority
The media

Question 12

Act which offers the Do Not Call Register, a secure database for consumers to register their telephone numbers to opt out of receiving telemarketing calls.

Answer 12

The Do Not Call Register Act 2006 (Cth)

Question 13

Code of practice implemented by Australian Direct Marketing Association regulating email and SMS in businesses.

Answer 13

eMarketing Code of Practice (2005)

Question 14

Code of practice implemented by Internet Industry Association, supplementing the Spam Act (2003) for internet providers.

Answer 14

Spam Code of Practice (2006)

Question 15

Case which became earliest reforms for same-sex couples.

Answer 15

Hope & Brown v NIB (1994)

Question 16

Reforms to which acts during the 2000s towards equality for same-sex couples.

Answer 16

Property (Relationships) Legislation Amendment Act 1999 (NSW) and Health Insurance Act 1973 (Cth)

Question 17

Amendment act which reinforces the exclusion of marriage to a heterosexual relationship to invalidate same-sex marriages from overseas.

Answer 17

The Marriage Amendment Act (2004)

Question 18

Amendment which made same-sex marriage legal.

Answer 18

2017 amendments, to the Marriage Act (1975)

Question 19

Lobby groups which advocate and resist equal rights for same-sex couples.

Answer 19

Australian Marriage Equality and the Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby

Australian Christian Lobby

Question 20

Act which recognised relationships outside of marriage, later amendeded in 1999.

Answer 20

De Facto Relationships Act 1984 (NSW)

Property (Relationships) Legislation Amendment Act 1999 (NSW)

Question 21

Act which made the law focused on the best interests of the child, making “parental rights” outdated.

Answer 21

Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006 (Cth)

Question 22

Amendment act in response to the Time for Action: The National Council’s Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and Their Children 2009–21, making courts take into considerations any evidence of family violence for the best interests of the child.

Answer 22

Family Law Legislation Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Act 2011 (Cth)

Question 23

Case where court ruled that a sperm donor is not necessarily the legal and social parent.

Answer 23

B v J (1996)

Question 24

Act passed to protect a surrogate child, providing legal certainty under surrogacy arrangements, criminalising commercial surrogacy.

Answer 24

The Surrogacy Act 2010 (NSW)

Question 25

Case which reveals a outdated discriminatory anomaly for when surrogacy was illegal. the subsidy unjustly disadvantages those who wish to start a family but can’t due to factors they can’t control.

Answer 25

“Calls for federal government to end Medicare’s surrogacy exclusions for IVF treatments” (Lewis, 2023)

Question 26

Groups which support surrogacy.

Answer 26

Australian Families Through Gestational Surrogacy and Donor Conception Support Group

Question 27

Case exemplifying the problems with commercial surrogacy with twins being separated.

Answer 27

Baby Gammy case

Question 28

Statistic about the care of children.

Answer 28

In 2007, 150 children who had been previously reported to Community Services as being at risk of harm died at the hands of their abusive parent or carer.

Question 29

Initiatives towards the care of children in need.

Answer 29

Child Abuse Prevention Service
Child Protection and Family Crisis Service
The Benevolent Society and Parenting NSW

Question 30

Criticism towards the Anglican Church in it’s care of young people.

Answer 30

Dealing with Child Abuse within it’s own organisation.

Question 31

Act which established the Australian Federal Police.

Answer 31

Australian Federal Police Act 1979

Question 32

How successful were the AFP during the Bali Bombings 2002.

Answer 32

Helped to establish Indonesia’s Police counter-terrorism unit and programs to counter violent extremism in Indonesia. AFP and Indonesian authorities developed close bonds, proving the effectiveness of their involvement.

Question 33

How effective is The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (2000) in achieving it’s purpose.

Answer 33

Being disregarded as 9/11 made terrorism take precedent, US is successful in tackling transnational crime without it.

Question 34

Which articles cites INTERPOL’s Red Notice system being abused by states.

Answer 34

“Are some countries abusing Interpol?” (CNN) 28% used by countries with no civil liberties, half by countries considered corrupt by Transparency International.

“Has Interpol become the long arm of oppressive regimes?” (The Guardian)

Question 35

Article where INTERPOL intervened in cyber extortion network in the Philippines.

Answer 35

“Interpol, Philippines bust cyber extortion network” (Phys.org)

Question 36

Article revealing how the Border Force is suspect to corruption and insiders allowing drugs into the country.

Answer 36

“Mexican and South American cartels penetrating Australian border security to import tonnes of cocaine, underworld figure tells Four Corners” (ABC)

Question 37

How is the ABF responding to insiders from drug traffickers.

Answer 37

Operation Jardena

Question 38

Which act are police powers contained?

Answer 38

Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW)

Question 39

Which article reveals how DNA evidence during a murder case was rendered unreliable due to mistakes during the testing process.

Answer 39

“Laboratory bungle ruins evidence in unsolved murder of Frankston mum” (Sydney Morning Herald)

Question 40

Which act has brought onto question reasonable grounds of a search via sniffer dog.

Answer 40

Darby v Director of Public Prosecutions [2004]

Question 41

Which act had increasingly strict amendments and what did the amendments entail.

Answer 41

Bail Act 1978 (NSW)

Individuals only able to make one application for bail and having a different approach if the offender was an “unacceptable risk” to the public.

Question 42

How effective where the amendments to the Bail Act 1978 (NSW)?

Answer 42

Highly ineffective, leading to a 21.8% increase the number of youths in these centres, with most of them mainly remanded for welfare reasons rather than actually committing a crime.

Question 43

What was the first state or territory to raise the age of criminal responsibility.

Answer 43

Criminal responsibility age to 14 instead of 10, with the ACT being the first state or territory to enact this change.

Question 44

What did The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics reveal in February of 2023 about Indigenous Australians prison population.

Answer 44

30% of the adult prison population with 50.6% making up the population of juvenile detention centres. Resulting from low-level offences.

Question 45

What has the Australian Human Rights Commission recommended to address the over-representation of Indigenous Australians in prison.

Answer 45

Invest in the use of diversionary programs

Abolishment of mandatory sentencing as they can disproportionately affect Indigenous Australians.

Question 46

Which act allows courts to relief consumers of unjust contracts?

Answer 46

The Contracts Review Act 1980 (NSW)

Question 47

Which court cases establishes the precedent that contracts shouldn’t be too one-sided against the consumer or otherwise be rendered void.

Answer 47

Director of Consumer Affairs of Victoria v AAPT Ltd (Civil Claims) [2006]

Question 48

Which tribunal handles disputes between tenants, landlords, traders and consumers.

Answer 48

NSW Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal (NCAT)

Question 49

What is “Thermomix fined $4.6 million for failure to report burns” (Letts) about?

Answer 49

ACCC took Thermomix to federal court for failing to report injuries caused by their products and false and misleading statements about recalls of their products.

Question 50

Identify three formal statements of human rights.

Answer 50

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948)
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966)

Question 51

How are human rights treaties incorporated into Australian law.

Answer 51

Australia uses a dualist system when incorporating human rights treaties into domestic law, meaning it requires the treaty to be ratified as a statue by parliament and incorporated into domestic law.

Question 52

Distinguish between the separation and division of powers.

Answer 52

The separation of powers involves the separation of the branches of state into the legislature, executive and judiciary, ensuring the rule of law is upheld so that all people are subject to the same law. The division of powers however is the division of state and parliamentary governments.

Question 53

How has the relationship between state sovereignty and human rights have changed.

Answer 53

State sovereignty used to be absolute which led to the neglect of human rights in some circumstances. Now state sovereignty may be breached by other nations where the state fails to protect the people within its borders from crimes against the international community.

Question 54

Human rights statement concerning minors.

Answer 54

UN Convention on The Rights of The Child (1989)

Question 55

Which human rights legislation rose the age of mandatory military service to 18.

Answer 55

Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict

Question 56

An example of an individual being tried for war crimes concerning child soldiers.

Answer 56

Prosector V Thomas Lubanga Dyilo ICC