RELEASE OF REPORT INTO THE ROYAL COMMISSIONS ACT
4 February 2010
Attorney-General, Robert McClelland, today released the Australian Law Reform Commission (ALRC) report, ‘Making Inquiries: A New Statutory Framework’.
In January 2009, the Government asked the ALRC to examine the operation and provisions of the Royal Commissions Act 1902 and inquire as to whether an alternative form of Commonwealth executive inquiry should be established.
The inquiry was designed to explore in greater detail issues identified by the Clarke Inquiry in the ‘Report of the Inquiry into the Case of Dr Mohamed Haneef’.
The report contains 82 recommendations, including amending the Act to provide for the establishment of two tiers of inquiry, Royal Commissions and Official Inquiries.
Accordingly, the Report also recommends that the Act be renamed the ‘Inquiries Act’, which would set out specific powers to be conferred on Royal Commissions and Official Inquiries.
The recommendations raise a number of important policy issues, the implications of which will now be carefully considered by the Government.
The report is available on the ALRC’s website www.alrc.gov.au.
Media Contact: Adam Siddique 0407 473 630
