Which body tabled a 1986 report titled Recognition of Aboriginal Customary Laws dealing with ATSI marriages in parliament?

• A. Australian Bureau of Statistics
• B. Australian Law Reform Commission
• C. Law Council of Australia
• D. Australian Human Rights Commission

Answer: (B)

In Australia, a key institution for examining and proposing changes to the law is the Australian Law Reform Commission. It is the national body tasked with reviewing legal issues and producing reports aimed at reform, which are then tabled in Parliament. The 1986 report Recognition of Aboriginal Customary Laws, which deals with how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander marriages might be recognised under Australian law, was produced by the ALRC and presented to Parliament. Other bodies have different roles—statistics collection, professional advocacy for lawyers, or human rights promotion—and are not the ones that tabled this particular law reform report.