Australia

Australia is to ban under-16s from social media platforms in a bid to protect young people from online harms. The Australian government yesterday introduced the Online Safety Amendment (Social Media Minimum Age) Bill 2024, which will require social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent

Australia has made it a criminal offence to perform a Nazi salute or publicly display Nazi hate symbols, punishable with up to a year's imprisonment. The Counter-Terrorism Legislation Amendment (Prohibited Hate Symbols and Other Measures) Act 2023, which came into force yesterday, also criminalises

An Australian judge has been ordered to personally pay damages to a man he imprisoned for contempt following "a parody of a court hearing". The Federal Court of Australia has awarded over $300,000 AUD (around €180,000 or £150,000) to the man, identified by the pseudonym "Mr Stradford", wh

Queensland has become the fifth Australian state to permit euthanasia. Terminally ill people in the state will be able to access drugs to end their own lives after the state legislature voted to legalise the practice.

The findings of an inquiry into allegations of sexual harassment by a senior Australian judge have prompted urgent reviews into how the country's courts deal with sexual misconduct. Lawyers for Dyson Heydon, a former judge of the High Court of Australia, have said their client denies "any allegation

Argyll solicitors Stewart Balfour & Sutherland invited guests to dress up and part with a few dingo dollars to attend a charity screening of the Australian cult film Priscilla Queen of the Desert at the historic Campbeltown Picture House.

A number of Australia's most notorious criminals are likely to have their convictions quashed because their barrister was a police informant, The Times reports. Nicola Gobbo, 47, one of the country's top defence lawyers, is the subject of a public inquiry that could see murderers and others freed.