Laws

Troy Smith, who was arrested in April after police found methamphetamine in his hotel room in Bali, is sentenced to six-month drug rehabilitation by an Indonesian court.

In an interview with Stateline WA, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt insists the federal government's $107 million transition package is "significant", but says discussions will continue with the state government to determine what is needed. 

A post-war eugenics law passed in Japan to "prevent birth of inferior descendants" was found in violation of the constitution by the country's top court, with victim-survivors being handed a major win after years of seeking justice.

A coronial inquiry has heard police internal affairs found an officer failed four times to follow the WA Police use of force policy when shooting an armed Indigenous woman in the Mid West city of Geraldton in 2019.

The group says it reported the distressed whale in waters off the Sunshine Coast to authorities but when no-one had arrived almost an hour later, they took action fearing it was "drowning".

An Australian resident of more than four decades is deported to the United Kingdom after his visa was cancelled due to a drug conviction, with a last-minute appeal rejected by the Federal Court.

South Australian Independent MP Fraser Ellis has been found guilty of four counts of deception over his misuse of the Country Members Accommodation Allowance.

While we may have heard about these laws in the past, they don't take effect until July 1. 

The manufacture, supply and installation of this common kitchen benchtop material is outlawed from this week on. For silicosis sufferers, it's a step forward all too late.

Many Australians can now access surveillance tech, but this can lead to disputes between neighbours. Here's a breakdown of some of the legal issues that can crop up.

The Police Association says it repeatedly warned the state government's new public intoxication laws would lead to "unnecessary and entirely preventable" deaths.

A court has heard a 19-year-old Newcastle man allegedly found with weapons and tactical equipment intended to kill New South Wales MP Tim Crakanthorp.

The South Australian bank robber dubbed the 'bicycle bandit' has died two days after being jailed for 35 years. Kym Allen Parsons had been granted access to voluntary assisted dying for stage 4 cancer, before he was sentenced for his crimes.

In what one expert has likened to a plot from the political satire programs Utopia or Yes Minister, a report detailing ways to improve the processes by which the Tasmanian government can be more transparent to the public is released — with the suggested improvements blacked out in page after page of redactions.

Ahead of new laws cracking down on vape sales coming into effect next week, police are investigating reports bikie gangs are using stand-over tactics on small businesses selling nicotine vapes.

Assange has been released after pleading guilty to a felony count of obtaining and disclosing national defence information, bringing a more than decade-long legal battle to a close.

Julian Assange may finally be out, but his case has undeniably had a serious chilling effect on public interest journalism, and sends a terrifying message to any sources sitting on evidence of abuses by the government and its agencies.

A report by the NSW Crime Commission finds tracking devices are now part of standard toolkit for violent organised crime and their widespread use by domestic and family violence offenders is an urgent issue.

The trial of Donna Nelson, the former Greens candidate accused of smuggling drugs into Japan, is delayed just two days before it was due to commence, with some of her family already en route to the country.

SA Police say motorists spotted the car swerving along North East Road at Hillcrest before the driver was pulled over by patrols at Gilberton a short time later.

Forensic officers investigating the shooting death of Natalie Frahm in Mackay continued to work at the scene over the weekend. Could tougher firearms laws have prevented the tragedy?

Australia is known for strict gun laws implemented after the Port Arthur massacre in 1996, but states and territories still have different ways of treating gun ownership. Here's a guide.

The WA government says its new firearms laws are the toughest in the country, “making explicit that the possession and use of a firearm is a privilege but not a right”, according to the police minister.

Chinks in Tasmania's minority government armour are appearing, as within the space of hours, The Greens and Labor passed two consecutive bills through the lower house against the government's wishes, both on issues that the Liberals have long held out on.

The defence lawyer for Independent MP Troy Bell says the politician denies allegations he stole funds intended to support students who had disengaged from mainstream schools.