Australian Law Online

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01 | Can a stranger inherit everything you own? 14 August 2026
An elderly man goes into respite care and meets a nurse he's never known before. Within days she's bought him a will kit and had a document drawn up that leaves everything to her. He dies weeks later. Was that his clear settled wish, or something else entirely? Proving the difference is where it gets hard. And […]
02 | The will written on a frozen fish packet 14 August 2026
A frozen fish packet. An unsent text. A tractor fender. Courts have accepted all of these as valid wills.You want to write a will and make sure that your assets go to those who you think deserve your generosity.So, how can you make sure the will is binding? Does it need to be a formal […]
03 | He worked the farm for decades and got nothing 14 August 2026
You work the family farm your whole life, then it's left to someone else.When drafting a will, the law says you don't have to be fair or equal in deciding who will receive your estate.So, after you pass away, can disgruntled family members or friends challenge your will in the courts? Conflicts over inheritance arise […]
04 | Asked to be an executor? What you're really signing up for 14 August 2026
If a relative asks you to be the executor of their will, should you accept? What can go wrong and what do you need to know before you agree to take on the role? When disputes arise, executors are the ones left to clean up the mess, often navigating difficult family dynamics. And saying yes […]
Alan Jones on trial 11 August 2026
The criminal trial of former radio broadcaster Alan Jones has begun in the Local Court in Sydney.
How should the law respond to cults and groups that coerce and control? 4 August 2026
The Victorian parliament has published a groundbreaking inquiry into the recruitment methods and impacts of cults and organised fringe groups.Among the inquiry's recommendations are world-first laws to criminalise coercive control behaviours by groups.
The legacy of William Ah Ket, Australia's first lawyer of Chinese descent 28 July 2026
It's 150 years since the birth of William Ah Ket, Australia's first lawyer of Chinese descent.He was involved in two significant legal victories that kicked back against laws that discriminated against Asian Australians in the early 20th century.The Law Report explores the life and career of this remarkable Australian, his achievements and how his legacy […]
Fifty years of 'no-fault' divorce in Australia 21 July 2026
This year marks 50 years of the Family Law Act – legislation that revolutionised the way Australians divorce. Two former family law judges sit down with Damien Carrick to revisit a time before no-fault divorce, when unhappy spouses often employed private detectives to prove adultery.
The dilemmas of parole board decision making 14 July 2026
What is it like to have the responsibility of deciding if a violent offender should be released from prison and allowed back into the community?
New employment law pathway to hear sexual harassment complaints 7 July 2026
In a legal first, the Federal Court has handed down a sexual harassment decision under protections recently introduced to the Fair Work Act.

The King v Ko [2026] HCA 29 (12 August 2026) (Gageler CJ; Gordon, Edelman, Steward, Gleeson, Jagot and Beech-Jones JJ) 12 August 2026
Catchwords: Criminal practice – Trial – Adequacy of jury directions – Attempted importation of commercial quantity of border controlled drug – Fault element – Intent to import substance – Where respondent alleged to have facilitated customs clearance and delivery of consignment – Where consignment intercepted prior to departure – Where consignment contained border controlled drugs […]
Farrugia v The King [2026] HCA 28 (12 August 2026) (Gageler CJ; Gordon, Edelman, Steward, Gleeson, Jagot and Beech-Jones JJ) 12 August 2026
Catchwords: Criminal law – Sentencing – Where Senior Counsel appeared at sentencing hearing for both appellant and co-offender – Where Senior Counsel submitted, contrary to Crown submissions, that appellant's offending more serious than co-offender's offending – Where Senior Counsel submitted that both appellant's offending and co-offender's offending less serious than Crown's characterisation of offending – […]
Mpwerempwer Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC v Minister for Territory Families and Urban Housing as delegate of the Minister for the Environment [2026] HCA 23 (05 August 2026) (Gageler CJ; Gordon, Edelman, Steward, Gleeson, Jagot and Beech-Jones JJ) 5 August 2026
Catchwords: Administrative law – Judicial review – Water extraction licence – Where 30-year water extraction licence granted under s 60 of Water Act 1992 (NT) ("Water Act") – Where Minister required to be satisfied under s 60(4)(b) of Water Act that special circumstances justified grant of licence for period exceeding ten years – Where Minister […]
The King v HCZ [2026] HCA 24 (05 August 2026) (Gageler CJ; Edelman, Gleeson, Jagot and Beech-Jones JJ) 5 August 2026
Catchwords: Criminal law – Sentence – Child offender – Where offender committed offences including murder – Where murder "a particularly heinous offence" under s 176(3)(b)(ii) of Youth Justice Act 1992 (Qld) – Where offender sentenced to term of detention – Where s 227 of Youth Justice Act prevented release until offender had served 70 per […]
Potter (a Pseudonym) v The King [2026] HCA 25 (05 August 2026) (Gageler CJ; Gordon, Steward, Jagot and Beech-Jones JJ) 5 August 2026
Catchwords: Criminal practice – Admissibility of evidence – Sexual offences – Where complainant was appellant's wife – Where complainant made covert recording without appellant's knowledge – Where appellant admitted to previously sexually assaulting complainant while she was asleep in covert recording – Where complainant made covert recording to remind herself not to resume relationship with […]
Plaintiff M98/2025 v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2026] HCA 26 (05 August 2026) (Gageler CJ; Jagot and Beech-Jones JJ) 5 August 2026
Catchwords: Administrative law – Judicial review – Visas – Where plaintiff applied for protection (subclass 866) visa – Where evidence plaintiff assigned female gender at birth but identifies as male – Where plaintiff wished to undergo gender-affirming surgery – Where delegate erroneously construed plaintiff's answers in interviews as stating he no longer wished to undertake […]
Plaintiff S32/2026 v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2026] HCA 27 (05 August 2026) (Gordon, Steward and Beech-Jones JJ) 5 August 2026
Catchwords: Administrative law – Judicial review − Where delegate refused application for Protection (Class XA) (Subclass 866) visa ("Visa Decision") − Where delegate considered country information prepared by Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade − Where delegate concluded plaintiff could obtain protection from authority of Nepal − Where plaintiff sought merits review of Visa Decision […]
Austral v Northern Territory [2026] HCA 20 (17 June 2026) (Gageler CJ; Gordon, Edelman, Steward, Gleeson, Jagot and Beech-Jones JJ) 17 June 2026
Catchwords: Damages – Exemplary damages – Where appellants exposed to CS gas at youth detention centre – Where High Court held in Binsaris v Northern Territory (2020) 270 CLR 549 that spraying of CS gas constituted unlawful battery of appellants – Where High Court remitted matter to Supreme Court of Northern Territory for assessment of […]
Chaplin v Secretary, Department of Social Services [2026] HCA 22 (17 June 2026) (Gageler CJ; Gordon, Steward, Jagot and Beech-Jones JJ) 17 June 2026
Catchwords: Administrative law (Cth) – Social security – Where application of income test in Module H of Youth Allowance Rate Calculator in s 1067G of Social Security Act 1991 (Cth) reduced rate of youth allowance in certain circumstances where ordinary income earned, derived or received – Where point 1067G-H23 of Module H provided "ordinary income […]
Australian Securities and Investments Commission v Web3 Ventures Pty Ltd [2026] HCA 21 (17 June 2026) (Gageler CJ; Gordon, Edelman, Steward, Gleeson, Jagot and Beech-Jones JJ) 17 June 2026
Catchwords: Companies – Australian financial services licence – Provision of financial services – Where issuer did not hold or have benefit of Australian financial services licence for product – Where Australian financial services licence required if product is "financial product" – Where "financial product" includes facility through which person makes financial investment – Where "financial […]

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