r/auslaw • • Nov 30 '23

Current Topics subject to the Lehrmann Rule

82 Upvotes

For those new here, or old hands just looking for clarification, the Lehrmann Rule or Lehrmann Doctrine, is named for Bruce Lehrmann and the rule put in place by mods during his criminal trial.

While a topic is subject to the Lehrmann rule, any post or comment about it gets deleted. Further, the mods may, at their absolute discretion, impose a ban on the author.

The rule will be applied for various reasons, but it’s usually a mix of:

  • not wanting discussion in the sub to prejudice a trial, or be seen to prejudice a trial;

  • the mods not wanting to test how far the High Court’s decision in Voller stretches; and

  • the strong likelihood that a discussion will attract blow ins, devolve into a total shitshow, and require extremely heavy moderation.

We will update below in the comments to this thread topics that are subject to the rule. There will be no further warnings.

Ignorantia juris non excusat


r/auslaw • • 2d ago

Students, Careers & Clerkships Thread Weekly Students, Careers & Clerkships Thread

3 Upvotes

This thread is a place for /r/Auslaw's more curious types to glean career advice from our experienced contributors. Need advice on clerkships? Want to know about life in law? Have a question about your career in law (at any stage, from clerk to partner/GC and beyond). Confused about what your dad means when he says 'articles'? Just ask here.

To assist people responding to your query, please include where appropriate the following:

  1. The practice area you work in or are interested in working in.

  2. The city in which you are currently working in or are interested in working in.

  3. Some relevant details about you, such as if you are currently studying, or your PQE level, your education history, and your current firm classification (boutique, mid-size, top tier).

If you are asking a question related to salary or bonus payments, you must confirm that you have previously reviewed relevant salary guides published by recruiting firms.

If you are an international student or lawyer looking to relocate to Australia, please review previous careers threads, as your question has likely been answered. In short, your ability to obtain permanent residency and permanent working rights, rather than temporary working rights, is likely to be more important than your qualification or requalification pathway.


r/auslaw • • 5h ago

MRW my matter finishes at midday on a Friday:

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159 Upvotes

r/auslaw • • 2h ago

Star Casino fined $260m for money laundering violations

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27 Upvotes

Ouch!


r/auslaw • • 7h ago

CAPS LOCK ON 8 RANTS TIL CHRISTMAS

15 Upvotes

CAN YOU HEAR MARIAH CAREY AND MICHAEL BUBLE CLAWING A WAY BACK INTO YOUR SKULL LIKE THEY ARE CRYOGENICALLY FROZEN AND THAWED OUT ANNUALLY ONLY TO PUNISH YOUR SPECIES BEFORE BEING RETURNED TO THE ICE ONCE AGAIN IN JANUARY?


r/auslaw • • 18h ago

First Australian charged under deepfake pornography laws avoids jail

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89 Upvotes

District Court Judge Anne Barnett said she accepted the offending was “associated with obsessional thinking rather than hostility, resentment or any suggestion of revenge.”

I would have thought posting deepfake pornography of a young woman is inherently hostile.


r/auslaw • • 0m ago

Mining CEO sued for firing lawyer

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• Upvotes

r/auslaw • • 21h ago

Barristers

50 Upvotes

For anyone on here who is a barrister or has been one, have there been years you've struggled to make ends meet due to not being briefed?


r/auslaw • • 23h ago

Accused camper killer Gregory Lynn refused bail in second bid for freedom

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25 Upvotes

r/auslaw • • 1d ago

VicBar

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93 Upvotes

r/auslaw • • 2d ago

Judgment There’s no human right to Vegemite, court tells Australian prisoner who wanted ban overturned

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131 Upvotes

r/auslaw • • 1d ago

Yet another AI thread Is this AI?

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4 Upvotes

r/auslaw • • 1d ago

Michael Kirby’s shock praise for Dyson Heydon

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13 Upvotes

r/auslaw • • 22h ago

Lawyer to beggar via email

0 Upvotes

Just pondering how it must feel for a fully trained barrister to have to negotiate settlements with people who don't actually want to fork over money.
I'm having a discussion with a liquidator who seems to think he can just take a months wages off me. Unfair preference, look it up! It's bs.

Anyway so we're all at the stage where the liquidator won't accept my fair offer and I won't accept his unfair offer. It's just emails going back and forth now saying number? Other number? Number but said differently?

For the interested, Number isn't very big on the scale of liquidator numbers. It's actually a drop in the bucket.

And this barrister in between is on the phone saying to me, who is just some wagey with heaps of time and no fucks, hey Number is not enough can you increase it?

Sir, you're asking me to increase Number by the equivalent of your hourly rate. How does that feel? Surely you're meant for a higher purpose.

We could do this dance all night, it's going to cost them more in their own wages than what they could ever hope to get from me.


r/auslaw • • 3d ago

Shitpost There is nothing in the world more helpless and irresponsible than a man in the depths of a silent ape binge, completely untouchable because he falls straight outside the legal genus of noisemakers.

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232 Upvotes

r/auslaw • • 3d ago

Edelman J on one again

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66 Upvotes

r/auslaw • • 2d ago

VicBar October 2026 e xam

16 Upvotes

Was the evidence portion hard for others? Just relieved it’s over for now…


r/auslaw • • 3d ago

News Record 887,910 pro bono hours logged in Australia for 2026: report - The Lawyer Mag

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62 Upvotes

r/auslaw • • 3d ago

The Parliamentary mace - symbol or weapon?

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4 Upvotes

r/auslaw • • 4d ago

Shitpost Turns out it really was an Admiralty court this time.

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43 Upvotes

r/auslaw • • 4d ago

Ben Roberts-Smith: Media blitz is playing with danger for his murder …

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28 Upvotes

r/auslaw • • 5d ago

Judgment Rebel Wilson secures another Australian court win as co-producers of The Deb awarded just $10 — NSW Supreme Court judge otherwise dismisses case brought by film’s co-producers and awards Wilson almost $400,000 after star countersued

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81 Upvotes

r/auslaw • • 5d ago

Shitpost Alex Goodcop v incel prosecutors

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48 Upvotes

r/auslaw • • 5d ago

Serious Discussion Is this legal?

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67 Upvotes

I recently noticed this commercial venue on St Kilda Beach (possibly Republica) cordoning off a section of the beach to create an exclusive area restricted to paying patrons. This struck me as legally questionable, given the generally accepted principle that beaches are public spaces and should not be subject to private appropriation.

It raises an interesting question... what is the legal basis for permitting a private commercial operator to exclude the public from a portion of the foreshore (is there a basis at all)?

My baseline understanding is that the foreshore is not simply vacant land available for private appropriation. Under common law principles concerning res communes, the public character of the foreshore, and the legal significance of the mean high-water mark in determining the boundary between land and the sea, there is a substantial question as to the extent to which a private entity can lawfully assert exclusive control over part of a beach. And a private commercial operator does not acquire an inherent proprietary or possessory right to exude the public merely by virtue of operating a licensed hospitality venue adjacent to the beach.

I appreciate that public ownership does not necessarily mean that every part of Crown land must remain accessible to everyone at all times. The relevant authorities may have statutory powers to grant leases, licences, permits or other forms of authorisation, and may be able to impose temporary restrictions for particular purposes. The question, however, is whether those powers extend to authorising a private, for-profit operator to permanently cordon off part of the foreshore and reserve its use exclusively for their paying customers.

Am I missing an established legal mechanism that resolves this issue, or is the law more nuanced than the general principle that public foreshore cannot simply be appropriated for private commercial use? Or is the practice operating in a legally grey area that has yet to be tested?


r/auslaw • • 5d ago

Prosecutors admit murder-accused illegally deported

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26 Upvotes