Legislation

Australian Crime Commission Act 2002

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 

Aviation Transport Security Act 2004 

Crimes Act 1914 (Originally the principal act containing Commonwealth offences. Now gradually being superseded by the Criminal Code Act 1995)

Crimes at Sea Act 2000 

Crimes (Foreign Incursions and Recruitment) Act 1978 

Crimes (Overseas) Act 1964 

Criminal Code Act 1995 

Criminology Research Act 1971 

Director of Public Prosecutions Act 1983 

Extradition Act 1988 

Intelligence Services Act 2001 

Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner Act 2006 

Maritime Transport and Offshore Facilities Security Act 2003 

Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act 1987 

National Security Information (Criminal and Civil Proceedings) Act 2004 

Proceeds of Crime Act 1987 

Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (supersedes but does not repeal the 1987 Act)

Model Criminal Code (1st edition, May 2009)

Court and Tribunal decisions, law reports, etc

 Australasian Legal Information Institute (AustLII)

Key Websites

Attorney-General's Department
The Department administers general criminal law, national security including counter-terrorism, emergency management and natural disaster relief.

Standing Council on Law and Justice (SCLJ) [previously Standing Committee of Attorneys-General (SCAG)]

Australian Crime Commission 

Australian Institute of Criminology 

Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC)
Many of the ALRC inquiries have been into matters relating to criminal law. A full list of inquiries and reports can be accessed on their website.

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) 

Crime and justice statistics (cat. no. 4524.0, Australian Bureau of Statistics)
Current statistics on many aspects of crime and law enforcement.

CrimeNet
Information on criminal records, stolen property, missing and wanted persons, con artists and unsolved crimes. A fee paying commercial database which provides some information free of charge. The Parliamentary Library does not provide full access to this site.

Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions (CDPP) 

Griffith University School of Criminology and Criminal Justice

University of Western Australia. Crime Research Centre

Australian sites

via AUSTLII 

 

Overseas sites

via AUSTLII

via Hieros Gamos 

via Cornell University 

via University of Chicago 

via University of Kent at Canterbury
Scroll down to Special Legal Topics >Criminal Justice. Primarily UK information.

 

Key Publications

For further items, search the Parlinfo database and select Library for journal articles, books and library publications, and Media for newspaper articles and media releases. Although full text searchable, for copyright reasons some material on Parlinfo may be available only to those using the Parliament House computer network.

Encyclopedias, books etc.

The following are commercial publications and not available outside the Parliamentary computer network.

Halsburys Laws of Australia (LexisNexis). 
Title 130. Criminal Law ; Title 320. Police and Emergency Services ; Title 443. Weapons and Dangerous Goods
 

The Laws of Australia (Thomson Reuters)
Title 9. Criminal Law Principles ; Title 10. Criminal Offences ; Title 11. Criminal Procedure ; Title 12. Criminal Sentencing 

Thomson Reuters commentaries
Federal Offences ; Criminal Law New South Wales ; Ross on Crime. 

Selected Government and Parliamentary Reports

Australian Crime: Facts & Figures (Australian Institute of Criminology annual publication)

2013 Troubled Waters: Inquiry into the arrangements surrounding crimes committed at sea (House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs)

2013 Value of a justice reinvestment approach to criminal justice in Australia (Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee)

2013 Integrity of overseas Commonwealth law enforcement operations (Joint Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity)

2013 Inquiry into the gathering and use of criminal intelligence (Joint Committee on Law Enforcement)

2012 Inquiry into Commonwealth unexplained wealth legislation and arrangements (Joint Committee on Law Enforcement) 

2011 Inquiry into the Operation of the Law Enforcement Integrity Commissioner ACT 2006 (Joint Committee on the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity)

2011 Inquiry into the adequacy of aviation and maritime security measures to combat serious and organised crime (Joint Committee on Law Enforcement)

2011 Commonwealth Fraud Control Guidelines (Attorney-General's Dept.)

2008 Prosecution Policy of the Commonwealth (Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions)
A key policy document which sets out the relevant guidelines for determining whether it is appropriate to institute a prosecution or to continue that prosecution.

2008 Coercive Information-gathering Powers of Government Agencies (Report no. 48, Administrative Review Council)

2008 Final Report on Identity Crime [Identity theft] (Model Criminal Law Officers’ Committee)

2004 Crime in the Community: victims, offenders and fear of crime (House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs)

2003 Double jeopardy (R. Johns, NSW Parliamentary Library Briefing Paper 16/2003)

2003 Report of Independent Review of Part 1D of the Crimes Act 1914 - Forensic Procedures (Sherman report) 

2002 The Commonwealth Criminal Code: a guide for practitioners (Attorney-General's Dept.)

2002 Application of absolute and strict liability offences in Commonwealth legislation (Senate Scrutiny of Bills Committee)

2001  Extradition: a review of Australia's law and policy (Joint Standing Committee on Treaties. Report 40)

2000 Entry and search provisions in Commonwealth legislation (Senate Scrutiny of Bills Committee)

 

 

 

 

 

Firearms

Federal Legislation

National Firearms Program Implementation Act 1996 

National Firearms Program Implementation Act 1997 

National Firearms Program Implementation Bill 1997: Bills Digest 

National Firearms Program Implementation Act 1998 

National Firearms Program Implementation Bill 1998
Bill homepage: Links to text of Bill, Explanatory Memorandum, Bills Digest, Second reading speeches.

Crimes Legislation Amendment (People Smuggling, Firearms Trafficking and other Measures) Act 2002 

Crimes Legislation Amendment (People Smuggling, Firearms Trafficking and Other Measures) Bill 2002 
Bill homepage: Links to text of Bill, Explanatory Memorandum, Bills Digest, Second reading speeches.

Customs (Prohibited Imports) Amendment Regulations 2000 (No. 7) [SR 2000 No. 234]
Introduces stronger import controls on handguns.

Customs (Prohibited Imports) Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 1) [SR 2001 No. 60] 

Customs (Prohibited Imports) Amendment Regulations 2002 (No. 4) [SR 2002 No. 331]
The purpose of the regulations is to prohibit the importation of certain handguns and handgun parts by certified sports shooters and certified international sports shooters and to put related conditions on the importation of handguns by dealers.

National Handgun Buyback Act 2003
Provides funding to the States and Territories for the handgun buyback scheme July 2003-2004.

National Handgun Buyback Bill 2003
Bill homepage: Links to text of Bill, Explanatory Memorandum, Bills Digest, Second reading speeches.

Media Release, Minister for Justice and Customs,30 June 2003 

Key Websites

Attorney-General's Department, Firearms Law

Australian Crime Commission
 Illicit firearms Factsheet

Australian Firearms Buyback official website
As archived by the National Library of Australia.

Australian Institute of Criminology. National Firearms Monitoring Program 

Gun Control Australia 

Shooters and Fishers Party

Sporting Shooters' Association of Australia 

Selected Publications

Halsburys Laws of Australia (Lexis Nexis) Title 443. Weapons and Dangerous Goods
Commercial publication. Not available outside Parliament.

2012 Gun violence: an update (New South Wales Parliamentary Library)

2008 Court outcomes for firearm offences in Australia (Australian Institute of Criminology)

2004 Firearms restrictions: recent developments (New South Wales Parliamentary Library)

2002 Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agrees on a national approach to restrict the availability and use of handguns, particularly concealable weapons (communiqué, transcript of press conference, 6 December 2002)

2002 State and federal police ministers agree to comprehensive handgun reforms (Minister for Justice and Customs, media release, 28 November 2002)

2002 Police ministers approve firearms reference to the National Crime Authority to investigate handgun trafficking (Minister for Justice and Customs, media release, 5 November 2002)  

2002 In response to the Monash University shooting on 21 October 2002 the Prime Minister outlines 13 proposals for controls on handguns (media release, 24 October 2002)

2002 Tough new penalties for gun trafficking (Minister for Justice and Customs, media release, 16 September 2002)

2002 National Firearms Trafficking Policy Agreement (Minister for Justice and Customs, media release, 17 April 2002)

2002 Gun co-operation will produce safer communities (Minister for Justice and Customs, media release, 4 April 2002)

2000 Carriage of firearms at Sydney 2000 [Olympic] Games (Attorney-General, media release, 20 July 2000)

1997 The Gun Buy-back scheme (Australian National Audit Office, Audit Report no. 25, 1997-98)

1996 Guidelines on compensation for surrendered firearms (Attorney-General, media release, 29 July 1996)

1996 After Port Arthur: issues of gun control in Australia (Commonwealth Parliamentary Library)

1996 Australasian Police Ministers' Council. Special Firearms Meeting, Canberra, 10 May 1996. Resolutions

Links to Overseas Firearms Sites

Firearms Research Digest
A bibliographic database of firearms-related research (2000 to 2009) compiled by the Harvard Injury Control Research Center.

Firearms: Control legislation and policy (compiled by the Law Library of Congress)

International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA)
A global lobby movement against gun violence. 

World Forum on Shooting Activities (WFSA)