Community Engagement in the Age of Modern Law Reform: Perspectives from Adelaide

Abstract

This article documents the recent community engagement experience of the South Australian Law Reform Institute (‘the Institute’) in relation to two references: the first concerning discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer South Australians; and the second relating to family inheritance law. These experiences underscore the importance of successful community engagement for law reform bodies and others involved in public policy making including governments. The Institute’s experiences demonstrate that by adopting a range of innovative strategies to generate public interest and trust and facilitate the meaningful sharing of information and knowledge, even modest and resource-stretched bodies like the Institute can achieve strong legislative results that have broad community support.