The years 1981-82 saw significant changes in the composition of the Commission. Justice Wootten returned to the bench and was replaced by Professor Ronald Sackville, who took up full-time duties as Chairman in July 1981. Professor Sackville presided over the restructuring of the Commission. In 1982 Mr Conacher, who had been Deputy Chairman since the Commission’s inception, retired. His successor, in May, was Mr Russell Scott. Seven part-time Commissioners, including Ms Bettina Cass, a sociologist, were also appointed under the new system ushered in by the 1981 amendments. They were specifically appointed to projects which the Commission was just concluding or beginning.

As work on the legal profession reference drew to a close, the Commission was able to take on several new major references. Between July 1981 and January 1982, the Attorney General, Mr Walker, referred the subjects of de facto relationships, accident compensation and criminal procedure to the Commission. Work on the first two was begun immediately and they were completed by June 1983 and October 1984 respectively; however, the limited resources of the Commission delayed work on criminal procedure. Both the issues paper and the report on de facto relationships were widely praised for their comprehensiveness, clarity and readability, and the Commission’s recommendations were implemented in totality by the Government. The accident compensation reference required the Commission to examine the merits of a “no fault” compensation scheme to replace the existing systems of compensation for transport and work-related injuries. As part of its extensive research for this reference, the Commission undertook detailed case studies and engaged consultants in the fields of the assessment of damages, actuarial studies, human resource management and rehabilitation. The final report on a transport accident scheme contributed significantly to the debate over the introduction of a “no fault” compensation system.

In its 1981 Annual Report, the Commission commented favourably on recent proposals that law reform commissions should collect and disseminate suggestions for law reform. Increased public awareness had led many members of the public, as well as practitioners and judges, to suggest aspects of the law that were felt to be in need of reform. However, the Commission was hampered by the requirement that it work only on matters which had been referred to it by the Attorney General. After approaches by the Chairman, the Attorney General wrote to the Commission in May 1982 authorising it to give preliminary consideration to proposals by the legal profession and the community at large, in order to bring to the Attorney General’s attention matters which warranted a formal reference to the Commission. The unique attribute of this initiative, entitled the Community Law Reform Program, is that it actively involves the public from the beginning of the law reform process instead of seeking comments on discussion papers when much of the work on a reference has already been completed. As well as allowing the Commission to engage in preliminary research and consultation, the Program is designed to deal with less complicated matters which are of particular significance for the general public. It has therefore provided a valuable counterbalance to the large and time-consuming references which have otherwise predominated in the Commission’s work.²⁰

Soon after the Program was introduced the Commission sought and obtained references on three topics: non-disclosure and misrepresentation in insurance contracts; the service of civil process on Sundays; and the award of interest on debts which have been paid during legal proceedings. These references were all completed within a year and were rapidly implemented. Over the years of the Program’s operation the Commission has given serious consideration to over 400 matters brought to its attention. The Commission has received 24 references from the Attorney General under this program. The Commission has striven to complete such references within a year of their issue, although this aim has always been subject to the availability of resources. In 1983 the Australian Law Reform Commission established a similar program.

The Commission received another large reference in October 1983 when it was instructed to examine the need to make laws on new technologies and practices associated with human conception, pregnancy and birth. This reference on artificial conception was commenced under the direction of the Deputy Chairman, Mr Russell Scott, an internationally recognised authority on biomedical law. The research undertaken on this reference is discussed in detail in Chapters 3 and 4 of the 1988 Annual Report.

In December 1984 Professor Sackville’s term as Chairman expired and, with the completion of the major projects with which he was centrally involved, he took up practice at the Bar. The new Chairman, Mr Keith Mason QC, oversaw the progress of the Commission’s two remaining major references on criminal procedure and artificial conception, while reviving two existing references - evidence and the sale of goods - which had been suspended pending reports by other agencies. The Community Law Reform Program continued to be developed, despite a reduction in the research staff. Mr Mason left the position of Chairman in February 1987 on being appointed Solicitor General for New South Wales. Both he and Professor Sackville, however, continued to participate fully in the work of the Commission as part-time Commissioners. Ms Helen Gamble took up the position of Chairman in May 1987 after serving as full-time Commissioner in charge of the Community Law Reform Program from March 1986. These years saw the Commission move towards the completion of its broad and varied program of references received since 1982.