Since the dawn of time, for a society to function, it has needed to have a level of structure that applies to all and is understood by all. The Australian legal system is large and complex. It is the nature of general laws and regulations that reflect how people, organizations and governments behave at different operational levels and are created to ensure that everyone understands their rights and obligations. There are two sources of law in Australia: statutory law which is regulated by Parliament and includes statutes and acts; and Judge-made Law or Common Law in which decisions made by judges are based on previous cases. Legislation and common law are not separate and independent sources of law. They exist in a symbiotic relationship. The symbiotic relationship refers to the two different sources of legal norms that provide the sum of the rules that establish the system as a whole. (Brodie v Singleton Shire Council (2001) 206 CLR 512, 532 [31]) The Australian legal system also depends on a number of fundamental principles. Without these principles, people and society could not and would not place their trust in the system to protect and promote their legal rights and interests. These principles are: fairness, transparency, equality before the law, freedom from prejudice and the right to be heard (Banks, 2007). This essay will discuss two fundamental principles: fairness and justice. In particular, to what extent is the Australian legal system based on fairness and justice? What is equity? Legal fairness consists of decisions that will be made based on an established and known set of rules (Banks, 2007). For example, if there were no laws about cell phone use while driving, it would be unfair for a person... middle of paper... customer pays ongoing charges,• A ban now in force conflicting remuneration is prohibited, including commissions and scaled advice, so that the client is now able to ask for advice in a single area where they have problems at an affordable price rather than being forced into a comprehensive consultancy package. In the cases mentioned above, it is evident that the Australian legal system has not always been fair and just, however, over time it has been shaped and molded to clearly represent what is considered fair and just in our society today. From procedures and presumptions about how the legal system is administered to the laws and regulations that determine what crime and punishment are - these are based on transparency, equality, freedom from bias, human rights and an established set of rules who adhere to the justice and equity of the legal system.