Law of Australia

The law of Australia comprises many levels of codified and uncodified forms of law. These include the Australian Constitution, legislation enacted by the Federal Parliament and the parliaments of the States and territories of Australia, regulations promulgated by the Executive, and the common law of Australia arising from the decisions of judges.

The Australian Constitution is the legal foundation of the Commonwealth of Australia and sets out a federal system of government, dividing power between the federal Government and the States and territories, each of which are separate jurisdictions and have their own system of courts and parliaments. The constitutional framework of Australia is a combination of elements of the Westminster and United States systems of government. The federal legislature has the power to pass laws with respect to a number of express areas, which apply to the whole of Australia and override any State laws to the extent of any inconsistency. However, beyond those express areas the States legislatures generally have plenary power to enact laws on any subject.

At both the federal and State levels, the substantive law of Australia is largely derived from the common law system of English law.

The High Court of Australia is the highest court in Australia, and hears appeals from federal and State courts on matters of both federal and State law.Unlike the United States, there is only one common law of Australia rather than common laws for each of the several jurisdictions of the States and territories.

The legal institutions and traditions of Australian law are monocultural in character, reflecting its English origins. When the British arrived in Australia, they considered the continent to be terra nullius, or land belonging to no-one, on the basis that the Aboriginal peoples already inhabiting the continent were too primitive to have lawful possession of the land. Under the English conception of international law at the time, when uninhabited lands were settled by English subjects the laws of England immediately applied to the settled lands. As such, Aboriginal laws and customs, including native title to land, were not recognised. The reception of English law was clarified by the Australian Courts Act 1828 (UK), which provided that all laws and statutes in force in England at the date of enactment should be applied in the courts of New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) so far as those laws were applicable. Since Queensland and Victoria were originally part of New South Wales, the same date applies in those States for the reception of English law. South Australia adopted a different date for reception, as did Western Australia.

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