
Human Rights Behind Bars: The Duty to Protect Female Prisoners
Every person in custody retains basic human rights. Chief among them is the right to safety, dignity, and freedom from abuse. The recent $2 million lawsuit brought by Keli Lane against the NSW Government highlights how deeply these rights can be breached when systems fail to protect women behind bars.

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.
![When “Inappropriate” Isn’t Always “Indecent”: Lessons from Police v Hill [2025] SASC 127](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/67d4efd366c0dd37765b8d3d/1758182431311-6NYEY8AXOPUBYIQPA4EY/unsplash-image-sEUAJeFn5mE.jpg)
When “Inappropriate” Isn’t Always “Indecent”: Lessons from Police v Hill [2025] SASC 127
The Supreme Court of South Australia recently handed down their decision in Police v Hill [2025] SASC 127, which highlights the fine line between “inappropriate workplace behaviour” and what the law recognises as a criminal indecent assault.

New Laws to Better Protect Children in Workplaces
From 1 July 2025 it is a serious offence for registered child sex offenders to apply for or engage in any type of child-related work, including businesses where children are employed, such as fast food chains or supermarkets.