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Criteria for Projects

How does the commission decide which community law reform projects to pursue?

Background

The commission welcomes law reform proposals from community organisations and members of the public. Our aim is to improve community involvement in law reform by opening up access to people and communities who are not usually involved in the law but may have good ideas about how the law could be improved.

In determining which projects to take on, the commission is bound by the provisions of the  Law Reform Commission Act 2000.

Section 5 of that legislation sets out the functions of the commission. In regards to community law reform, the commission may:

• make recommendations on minor legal issues of general community concern (if the Commission is satisfied that the examination of that matter will not require a significant deployment of resources)
• suggest to the Attorney-General that he or she refer a law reform issue to the commission
• educate the community on areas of law relevant to the commission's work; and
• monitor and coordinate law reform activity in Victoria.

The key principle is that community law reform projects address legal issues that are of general community concern, but are small enough to have a relatively straightforward solution. In addition community law reform projects must not require significant resources.

The commission cannot take on every law reform idea that is suggested to us. Generally we can only complete two projects a year.

Some projects will lead to recommendations to government; others may take the form of publishing a discussion or research paper.

In order to assist you to make a law reform proposal the commission has agreed the following selection criteria. It is against these criteria that the commission decides which projects it is able to work on. If your law reform idea does not fit within our criteria, or if we do not have the current resources to undertake the project we will inform you of other organisations and bodies that may have an interest in the issue.

Selection Criteria

In deciding whether to undertake a community law reform project the commission considers the following:

The area in which the law applies – the commission can only make recommendations about state laws.

The scope of the community law reform project, including the complexity of the legal issues raised, the amount of research required, and the amount of legal change that may be needed. The commission can only do community law reform projects that deal with relatively small changes to the law.

The amount of community consultation that will be needed to fully consider the issue. Complex and controversial subjects or areas of law that do not have strong community consensus will generally not fit within community law reform projects. These types of issues require significant consultation and public debate to resolve. This is better suited to a government initiated reference or inquiry.

The law reform proposal’s likely public benefit. The commission is interested in projects that will fix problems with the law that affect a significant proportion of the population or address problems faced by significantly disadvantaged members of the community.

Community involvement. If your are a community group putting forward a law reform idea the commission would like to know how you have consulted with people to check your proposal meets their needs. We would also like to know how you will keep people informed and involved if the law reform idea is accepted as a community law reform project by the commission.

The prospects of success for the reform proposal. Community law reform projects must provide a simple, effective solution to an anomaly, inequity or gap in the law.

The resources and time needed to undertake the community law reform project. The legislation governing the commission requires that community law reform projects must not require significant resources. The commission prefers community law reform projects that can be completed within three to six months, using existing resources.

Avoiding duplication. If the law has recently been considered by Parliament or is currently being reviewed, or likely to be reviewed by government the commission will not undertake the project. If your law reform idea better suits consideration by another law reform organisation, we will inform you of who to approach.

How do I tell the commission about my law reform idea?

If you think your law reform idea may be suitable for the commission to consider please let us know. You can do this by writing to us, emailing us or completing the community law reform project application on our website.

You can contact us at:

Mail: PO Box 4637, GPO Melbourne Vic 3001
Email: law.reform@lawreform.vic.gov.au
Fax: 8619 8600

Or you can make your law reform suggestion using the online form on this website. 

If you would like to discuss your idea before making an application please feel free to call us on (03) 8619 8619.