19 reference   should   be   made.³⁴      In   Victoria,   the   Commission   is   able   to   make recommendations  for  minor  legal  changes  without  a  reference  from  the  Attorney- General.³⁵    Where  the  suggested  area  is  too  complex,  or  requires  greater  funds  and more widespread consultation, the Attorney-General is briefed and terms of references are sought.  The Programs do not, however, consider suggestions that are too complex for its resources; that may involve contentious policy issues or may involve areas not properly the field of law reform; or that are otherwise unsuitable, including for being within an area of Commonwealth responsibility.  Although the QLRC does not have a formal  program  for  community  suggestions  for  law  reform,  such  suggestions  are nevertheless received and the Commission has the power to request a reference from the Attorney-General. Such community-based suggestions for law reform can be a valuable way to identify areas  of  injustice.    However,  there  are  also  some  disadvantages  to  such  a  system, beginning with the self-evident fact that such a program has the potential to be a drain on resources.  As well as the cost of the consultation process itself, the Law Reform Commission  may  be  completely  unable  –  either  because  of  budgetary,  resources  or jurisdictional   concerns   –   to   investigate   all   suggestions,   potentially   leading   to community feelings that their input has been ignored, that they have wasted their time, or  even  that  the  consultative  process  has  been  a  smokescreen  for  a  fait  accompli.   Secondly,  and  further,  the  nature  of  the  power  to  make  suggestions  may  create  an expectation in members of the public that their particular injustice will be addressed and redressed.  The law reform process is rarely able to solve an individual grievance; such inquiries are usually referred by the QLRC to relevant government departments or bodies.  This points to the third limitation: law reform proposals deal with systemic problems;  suggestions  from  the  public  may  involve  very  individual  circumstances, and these can even be a distraction from rather than an aid to systematic and more generally-useful law reform. The  Law  and  Justice  Foundation  of  New  South  Wales  has  recently  given  useful consideration to the weaknesses and barriers in existing law reform processes which                                                 34 http://www.lawlink.nsw.gov.au/nswlrc.nsf/pages/how2 visited 29/03/2004. 35 Victorian  Law  Reform  Commission  Act  2000  (Vic)  s  5(1)(b);  http://www.lawreform.vic.gov.au visited 29/03/2004.