The preparation of a statement of reasons is a common part of the making of many administrative decisions. As part of our work advising state and local government decision makers, we are often asked to review drafts of the statement…
The Model Code of Meeting Practice for Local Councils in NSW 2025 (2025 Meeting Code) took effect on 1 January 2026. It replaces the 2021 Code and contains some significant changes, which are summarised in this post. Requirement for Model…
In a recent decision of the NSW Court of Appeal, the Court has clarified important interactions between the Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 1999 (NSW) (SOPA) and the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) and confirmed the key legal…
A bill was introduced into the NSW Legislative Council on 14 October 2025 to change the forum for dealing with councillor conduct matters. The Land & Environment Court is proposed to have new powers to hear councillor conduct matters, in…
As we wrote about in our earlier article, a new scheme addressing bullying and harassment was passed by the NSW Parliament in July 2025. You can read about the changes here: Stop Bullying and Harassment Orders Coming Soon in NSW….
The Industrial Relations Act 1996 will soon be amended so that State and local government employees will be able to apply to the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) for orders in relation to workplace bullying and harassment (IRC Orders). This…
In December 2024, the High Court overturned a long-standing precedent preventing an employee from claiming damages for psychiatric injury arising from a breach of an employment contract by an employer. In Elisha v Vision Australia Limited [2024] HCA 50, the…
Until the passage of the Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2024 (Amending Act), there was no general right to privacy in Australia except as provided by the relevant privacy legislation (such as the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act…
By nature of their operations, local councils receive and control public funds for various purposes. Under the Local Government Act 1993 (LG Act), councils are required to follow principles of sound financial management, and ensure that their spending of public…
By nature of their operations, public sector agencies and organisations possess personal information provided by their employees and the general public they serve. While much community focus has been placed on protecting data stored digitally, agencies must ensure compliance with…
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…
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…