Introduction This article discusses some principles relevant to internal investigations carried out by NSW Government agencies, or by local government authorities where the investigation is conducted outside the Model Code of Conduct framework. We won’t cover employment or industrial law…
REMINDER: Changes to Defamation Law Have Commenced
22 Jul, 2024
At the end of last year, we wrote about changes to NSW defamation laws that introduced new exemptions and defences for potentially defamatory content posted online. Our article discusses these changes in detail: Changes to Defamation Law: New Exemptions and…
The employment conditions of most employees of local councils are set out in the relevant local government award (Relevant Award). For most councils, the Relevant Award is the Local Government State Award 2023. Prior to the changes discussed below, the…
‘No good can come from a circumstance in which a local government body takes action to foster the development of its area without also being willing and able to fund the action it has contractually promised to undertake’ is the opening…
ICAC’s guide on how to manage conflict of duties
4 Apr, 2024
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) has issued a guide to assist public officials and agencies in identifying and managing conflicts of duties. The guide relates to conflicts of duties, not conflicts between a public duty and a personal or…
Section 220 of the Local Government Act 1993 (NSW) declares that a council is ‘is a body politic of the State’ and ‘is not a body corporate (including a corporation)‘. Amongst other things, this declaration is considered to largely shield…
For the first time in the context of a local council, the recent decision of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) in Shrestha v City of Ryde Council [2024] NSWIRComm 1005 has considered the interactions between differing lengths of probationary…
Key findings: ICAC Annual Report 2022-2023
17 Jan, 2024
The Independent Commission Against Corruption (the Commission) has published its annual report for the year 2022-23 (the Report), outlining the nature of complaints received and their investigative processes. The Report reflects a substantial increase in complaints reported to the Commission by…
The Climate Change (Net Zero Future) Act 2023 (the Act) was recently passed by the New South Wales Parliament, and has commenced operation. The purpose of this landmark legislation is to give effect to the commitments under the 2015 Paris…
The Department of Planning and Environment is publicly exhibiting a new set of local infrastructure contribution practice notes and seeking feedback until Friday 23 February 2024. The Department’s website states that it ‘has undertaken the first comprehensive rewrite of all…
New Information and Privacy Commission Guidelines for the Disclosure of Interest Returns
23 Nov, 2023
The Information and Privacy Commission (IPC) has recently published a report (the report) on the outcome of its follow-up audit on councils, to determine their compliance with the requirement to publish returns of interest lodged by councillors and designated persons…
Introduction Following the Respect@Work report into harassment and discrimination in the workplace, many changes have been made to the harassment and discrimination legal framework at the Federal level, including extending the protections offered under the Age Discrimination Act 2004, Disability…