The Australian Law Reform Commission (often abbreviated to ALRC) is an Australia

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

n independent statutory body established to conduct reviews into the law of Australia

Law of Australia

The law of Australia consists of the Australian common law , federal laws enacted by the Parliament of Australia, and laws enacted by the Parliaments of the Australian states and territories...

 and advocate options for law reform. The commission works with other law reform bodies such as the Administrative Review Council and the Family Law Council.

Background

The commission is the primary law reform agency for the Australian government. It was first established in 1975 as the Law Reform Commission under the Law Reform Commission Act 1975 (Comm). The first commission was abolished on the recommendation of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. That committee found that the act the commission was established under was outdated and that it should be updated in accordance with modern drafting styles. The report of the standing committee, was called “Law reform: the challenge continues” and was tabled in May 1994.

All office holders became office holders in the new commission named the Australian Law Reform Commission.

Constitution

The commission is established under the Australian Law Reform Commission Act 1996 (Comm). The commission consists of a president, a deputy president and at least four other members.

Members of the commission are appointed by the Australian Governor-General

Governor-General of Australia

The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...

. A member has to be either:

• a judge an Australian superior court;
• a lawyer of at least five years experience;
• a graduate in law of university with experience as a member of academic staff of a university; or
• is, in the governor-general's opinion, suitable for appointment because of the person's special qualifications, training or experience.