(From Feb 2017 but updated in for in 2018 for web site changes) The laws of the game have changed!!
The laws (rules) of our game (full field version) have changed for this season (2017 and onwards). There have been some 90 or so changes to the rule-book, through many are just clarifications (e.g. indirect free kicks – the ball must clearly move, no taping the ball and calling it a kicked) or tidying up of the english. But some are significant and obvious – you have probably seen in other games that they have finally given up on getting you to kick the ball forward on kick-off, it can now go backward. In some cases, less red cards (last-man fouls in the penalty area are now a yellow rather then a red) but in other cases more. More direct free kicks, some tidying up of the offside rule and much more.
Here is the actual law book for 2016/2017 , changes highlighted. Here is the FFA summary of the changes and here is the offical detailed list of changes.
Changes to bring the mini-roo games into line have been proposed, hopefully they will be accepted and out soon!
If you would like to learn the laws in detail – go to this page, it is the on-line course people must do before becoming a ref (but even here, some of the questions have not yet been updated ). It takes a few hours to go through, improves your knowledge of the game and if you take the test, allows you to go to the course to become a ref (we can host one of these courses ourselves if there is enough interest).