All Projects

This page lists all inquiries commenced by the Victorian Law Reform Commission since 2000. It includes references from the Victorian Attorney-General and community law reform projects. Scroll down for completed projects. Follow the links for more information on each inquiry.

Legends:
  • Blue: Community law reform project
  • Red: Reference from the Attorney-General of Victoria
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Current Projects

The Victorian Law Reform Commission has started a new Community Law Reform project, Examining Aspects of Family Violence Intervention Orders…
Artificial intelligence (AI) tools are rapidly evolving, with their application increasing across society. There is potential for the use of…

Completed Projects

The VLRC's Recklessness report was tabled in Parliament on 28 May 2024. Recklessness is an element of hundreds of criminal…
The Victorian Law Reform Commission has completed its report on Victoria's response to stalking, harassment and similar conduct, including the…
The Victorian Law Reform Commission has completed its report on Victoria's response to sexual offences, including rape and associated adult…
The Commission considered how to make juries more inclusive by changing legislation and practices to enhance access for people who…
On 24 October 2018, the Victorian Law Reform Commission was asked to review Victoria's committal system and pre-trial procedures.  Committals…
In October 2018 the Attorney-General asked the VLRC to consider contempt of court law reform. Contempt of court is any…
As part of our Community Law Reform Program, the Commission inquired into neighbourhood tree disputes. We reviewed the laws governing…
Victims of crime often need assistance. They can be physically, mentally and financially vulnerable. Recovery can be a long, difficult…
The ability of everyone to use the legal system to enforce their rights is basic to a fair and open…
This inquiry is about adoption law reform. Although adoption rates in Victoria are low compared to former times, adoption law…
What will happen to your body when you die? Have you written funeral and burial instructions? Or have you been…
This inquiry focussed on medicinal cannabis law reform. Cannabis has frequently been used to alleviate certain medical symptoms. Patients who…
In October 2014, the Commission was asked to examine and report on how regulation might stop organised crime from infiltrating…
In this review, the Commission considered the role of victims of crime in criminal trials. We looked at what changes…
This Community Law Reform Project addressed concerns that the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic) had not kept up with changes to…
The forfeiture rule prevents a person who has unlawfully killed another from inheriting from their victim or acquiring another financial…
This project is about trading trusts law reform. A trading trust is a popular way to structure a business, instead…
Jury trials allow citizens to take part directly in our justice system. The processes by which juries are empaneled, especially…
The courts frequently deal with people charged with offences who require a special response from the law due to their…
This project was about birth certificate law reform. Birth registration is the first step in the process of a person's…
Victoria's succession laws involve the transfer of wealth from one generation to the next. Laws about wills, executors and intestacy…
Operating since October 2004 by Victoria Police, the Sex Offenders Register was created as a socially protective measure, providing information…
By 2009, it was generally believed that the Property Law Act 1958 had become a cumbersome document, difficult to navigate,…
In August 2009, the Attorney-General asked the Commission to review Victoria’s property laws. The first component of the reference was…
At the time of this report, hundreds of children each year were involved in new child protection proceedings in Victoria.…
This Community Law Reform Project came out of an approach in 2008 by the Youth Referal and Independent Person Program…
Those whose decision-making ability is impaired sometimes need a guardian appointed to them. Although Victoria has been an Australian and…
Jury trials lie at the centre of our criminal justice system, being an important way for citizens to participate in…
Unlawful abortion had been a crime in Victoria since the state's foundation. Despite many calls for abortion law reform, the…
Public surveillance has become extensive enough to affect nearly all Victorians, but existing laws were not designed with high technology…
In May 2004, the Attorney-General issued a Justice Statement indicating directions for reform of Victoria's justice system. The statement's concerns…
At the time of this report, approximately 300 Victorians with a disability relied on assistance animals to help them lead…
The bail system in Victoria has an impact that reaches beyond the confines of the legislation and is a crucial…
For real estate agents and landlords, Residential Tenancy Databases are important resources for screening prospective tenants. However, despite their usefulness…
The law of evidence in Australia has been a mixture of statute, common law and rules of court and has…
The development of Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART) since the 1980s coincided with significant shifts in the make-up of Australian families.…
Note: This is the page for the Commission's 2006 Family Violence inquiry. For the 2017 Family Violence and the Victims…
Long-held assumptions about privacy have been challenged recently. The rapid advance of surveillance and monitoring technologies  affects everybody in their…
In November 2001, the government introduced the Crimes (Workplace Deaths and Serious Injuries) Bill 2001 to make corporations criminally liable…
In 2001, the Vincent review looked into the operation of disability services. The review found that there were serious issues…
How should the criminal law deal with the range of situations in which people kill others? How should their culpability…
Although generally accepted as being among the most traumatic crimes for its victims, sexual offences are among the most under-reported.…
The Victorian Law Reform Commission's first community law project, this review of certain sections of the  Bail Act 1977 (Vic) was prompted…
The laws applying to those who own property together (co-owners) affect many people, yet the complexity of the law makes…