New Queensland Law Limits Use of Character References for Sex Offenders
Queensland has changed the law on using good character references in sex offence cases. Here’s what it means for offenders, survivors, and the justice system.
SA Court of Appeal quashes conviction over the ‘rule against narrative’
In McClelland v The King [2025] SASCA 87, the South Australian Court of Appeal has overturned a rape conviction after finding a failure to direct the jury on an out-of-court statement left ‘obvious risks’ that the jury would ‘misuse the conversation’, to either bolster the complainant’s credibility (the ‘bolster rule’) or as evidence of uncharged acts.