au

Research protocol

1. Identify jurisdiction — Federal or state/territory? Which state?
2. Find the Act — search with site:legislation.gov.au plus the Act name or topic
3. Read the provision — open the current compilation with knowledge(command="read")
4. Check currency — check the compilation date and any amending Acts or bills not yet incorporated
5. Verify citations — every section number you cite must appear in the text you read
6. Web search — For High Court decisions (austlii.edu.au), ALRC reports

• Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia (1901) — Federal structure
• Section 51 — Federal legislative powers (trade, corporations, taxation, etc.)
• Section 109 — Federal law prevails over inconsistent state law
• Implied rights — Freedom of political communication (implied constitutional right)

Courts: High Court → Federal Court / Federal Circuit and Family Court (FCFCOA) and state/territory Supreme Courts → District/County Courts → Magistrates/Local Courts; tribunals include the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART, replaced the AAT in Oct 2024) and state tribunals (NCAT, VCAT, QCAT).

Key legal areas

Employment Law

• Fair Work Act 2009 — 11 National Employment Standards, modern awards, enterprise agreements; Fair Work Commission handles unfair dismissal and general protections
• Unfair dismissal — 6 months' service (12 months for small business); lodge with the FWC within 21 days of dismissal; 2026: high income threshold $190,100 and compensation cap $95,050 from 1 July 2026 (award or agreement coverage keeps access above the threshold)
• General protections — Adverse action for exercising workplace rights; also a 21-day deadline when dismissed
• Work Health and Safety Act 2011 — Model WHS framework (adopted by all jurisdictions except Victoria)
• Superannuation Guarantee — 12% (from 1 July 2025); Payday Super from 1 July 2026 requires super to reach the fund within 7 business days of each payday
• Non-competes — Enforceability currently depends on reasonableness (and NSW restraints legislation); a 2026 exposure-draft bill would ban them for workers under the high income threshold from 2027 — not law yet

Consumer Law

• Australian Consumer Law (ACL) — Schedule 2 of Competition and Consumer Act 2010
• Consumer guarantees — Automatic; cannot be excluded
• Misleading conduct — Section 18 ACL; broad prohibition
• Unfair contract terms — B2C and small-business B2B; prohibited with penalties since November 2023
• ACCC — Australian Competition and Consumer Commission; enforcement
• Scams Prevention Framework Act 2025 — Obligations on banks, telcos, and digital platforms to prevent and respond to scams, phased in by sector rules
• AFCA — Free external dispute resolution for complaints against banks, insurers, super funds, and other financial firms
• Small claims — Run by state and territory tribunals and local courts (NCAT, VCAT, QCAT, etc.); limits vary — check live

Contract Law

• Common law formation; ACL overlays consumer contracts; Electronic Transactions Act 1999 for e-signatures
• Limitation periods — Generally 6 years (varies by state)

Criminal Law

• Mostly state/territory law (own Criminal Codes or common law, bail acts); federal offences under the Criminal Code Act 1995 (AFP); right to silence and to legal representation

Privacy & Data Protection

• Privacy Act 1988 — Australian Privacy Principles (APPs); applies to entities with >$3M turnover
• Notifiable Data Breaches (NDB) scheme — Mandatory breach notification
• OAIC — Office of the Australian Information Commissioner; enforcement
• Privacy Act reform — Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024: statutory tort for serious invasions of privacy in force since 10 June 2025; automated-decision transparency in privacy policies from 10 Dec 2026; Children's Online Privacy Code in development; further tranches (including removing the small business exemption) not yet legislated
• Online safety — Social media minimum age of 16 applies from 10 Dec 2025 (platforms must take reasonable steps)

Business & Corporations Law

• Corporations Act 2001 and ASIC — Company formation, directors' duties, reporting; insolvency (personal: Bankruptcy Act 1966)
• Competition and Consumer Act 2010 — Antitrust; ACCC enforcement; mandatory, suspensory merger notification to the ACCC from 1 Jan 2026

Property Law

• Primarily state law — Each state has its own property legislation
• Torrens title system — Indefeasible title upon registration
• Residential Tenancies Acts — State-based; strong tenant protections
• Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) — Foreign property purchases

Family Law

• Family Law Act 1975 — Federal; divorce, property settlement, parenting arrangements
• No-fault divorce — 12 months' separation required
• Property settlement — Since 10 June 2025 the Family Law Act sets out the property steps in statute and requires courts to consider the economic effects of family violence
• Best interests of the child — Primary consideration in parenting matters
• Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) — Jurisdiction over family matters

Immigration

• Migration Act 1958 — Visa framework
• Department of Home Affairs — Visa applications
• Visa categories — Skilled (189, 190, 491), Employer-sponsored (482 Skills in Demand, which replaced the TSS in Dec 2024; 186), Family, Student, Visitor
• Paid immigration assistance — only registered migration agents (OMARA register) or Australian legal practitioners; check the register
• Australian citizenship — Australian Citizenship Act 2007

Intellectual Property

• Patents Act 1990 (20-year standard patent), Trade Marks Act 1995, Designs Act 2003 — IP Australia; Copyright Act 1968 (life + 70 years, automatic)

Resources

• Federal Register of Legislation — legislation.gov.au
• AustLII — austlii.edu.au (free case law database)
• ACCC — accc.gov.au (consumer protection)
• ASIC — asic.gov.au (corporations)
• Fair Work Ombudsman — fairwork.gov.au
• OAIC — oaic.gov.au (privacy)
• Legal Aid — Each state and territory has a Legal Aid Commission; community legal centres give free advice
• Law Societies — Each state has a Law Society for solicitor referrals
• AFCA — afca.org.au (financial complaints)