In White v Sutherland Shire Council [2019] NSWCATAD 100 (‘White‘), Senior Member Isenberg dismissed an application for administrative review because she could not identify any legislation relevant to the Applicant’s complaints that would confer jurisdiction on the NSW Civil and…
Legislation and codes of conduct apply to both State and local government employees in NSW. We are frequently asked whether the restrictions on conduct contained in such codes may infringe upon the implied right to freedom of political communication. The…
The NSW Civil and Administrative has recently considered the extent to which a local council carries on a business for the purposes of the Fair Trading Act 1987 and the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (CCA). The judgment contains significant…
The Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (PPIP Act) creates 12 Information Protection Principles that NSW public sector agencies must follow when handling personal information. One of these principles is the restriction on disclosing personal information that a public sector…
The Supreme Court of New South Wales recently held that three media companies were the ‘publishers’ of comments made by members of the public on their public Facebook pages for the purposes of a defamation claim. The case sets a…
Amendments to Local Government Act 1993
25 Jun, 2019
The Local Government Amendment Act 2019 (‘Amendment Act‘) received assent on 25 June 2019. The Amendment Act introduces several amendments to the Local Government Act 1993 (‘LG Act‘), two of which are considered to be of particular interest to those…
The governing body of Council is frequently required to consider sensitive documentation when making decisions. Sometimes, the Council needs to make arrangements to secure the information provided to councillors. In Barrak v City of Parramatta Council [2019] NSWLEC 59, the Court…
GIPA Act review of Information Commissioner’s decision finds Council’s decision justified
30 May, 2019
The NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) recently considered an application under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) for review of a decision of the Information Commissioner. While the Information Commissioner’s decisions when reviewing GIPA Act decisions…
Negligent misstatement by statutory authorities – duty of care and special statutory power
15 May, 2019
The existence of a duty of care in negligence for a misstatement by a statutory authority was recently considered in Loulach Developments Pty Ltd v Roads and Maritime Services [2019] NSWSC 438, by the NSW Supreme Court. In doing so,…
The Governor has issued further orders that change administrative arrangements and Ministerial responsibilities in NSW. These orders are the Administrative Arrangements (Administration of Acts—General) Order (No 2) 2019 (‘General Order‘), Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes—Ministers) Order (No 2) 2019 (‘Ministers Order‘),…
Following the return of the Coalition government on 23 March 2019, the Governor has issued Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes – Public Service Agencies) Order 2019, Administrative Arrangements (Administration of Acts—General) Order 2019 and Administrative Arrangements (Administrative Changes—Ministers) Order 2019 (together…
The use of information technology systems for internal management functions, to provide services and information to their communities and to exercise regulatory functions is integral to the day to day operation of governmental organisations. External providers are commonly used to…