The Attorney-General, Robert McClelland MP, and Minister for Finance and Deregulation, Senator Hon Penny Wong, released a joint press release on 22 September 2011, officially launching a discussion paper on the proposed consolidation of Federal anti-discrimination laws.  Submissions on the discussion paper can be made until 1 February 2012.  To read the press release, go to: http://bit.ly/ndObPx

The Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) recently released Reform Issue 92, ‘Children and Young People' which examines the current treatment of children and young people in the legal process.

By Teresa Cunningham, Australian Institute of Criminology.

A juvenile pre-court diversion scheme was introduced in the Northern Territory in 2000. Administered by police, it uses warnings and conferences to divert selected juveniles from the court process. This paper reports on an analysis of Northern Territory police records on 3,597 apprehended juveniles over a 5 year period.

By Terry Hannon / Flat Out Inc. and the Victorian Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders.

When a primary carer is arrested and sent to prison their children suffer. An extensive amount of research has documented the psycho-social, academic, and developmental impact on children when their primary carer goes to prison. Despite the obvious need for policy, there is a dearth of information about existing or developing policies that address the needs of prisoners’ children, both in Australia and internationally.

The full report, Children: unintended victims of legal process. A review of policies and legislation affecting children with incarcerated parents is available at Australian Policy Online .