In the media
Law Council calls for electronic document processes to
remain
The Law Council of Australia has called on the government
to improve the use of electronic processes in the execution of
documents and says consideration should be given to consistency
across the states and territories is needed to avoid confusion (01
July 2020).
More...
COVID-19 Expanded juries for shorter trials in NSW
The Supreme and District Courts can now order up to three
additional jurors in criminal trials estimated to run four weeks or
longer, under an amended regulation to the Jury Act 1977 to allow
trials to continue if a juror falls ill (01 July 2020).
More...
$2 billion partnership to deliver legal assistance
services for Australians
A new partnership between the Commonwealth and states and
territories will provide a significant boost to legal services
available to vulnerable Australians, including people affected by
domestic violence (30 June 2020).
More...
New Chair for Law and Justice Foundation
Attorney General Mark Speakman announced that Sharon Cook,
a highly respected lawyer and champion for women in the legal
profession, will chair the NSW Law and Justice Foundation, from for
a three year term (30 June 2020).
More...
2020 Vision for cyber security
The NSW Government has announced the development of a
comprehensive, sector-wide cyber security strategy and is calling
for industry submissions to help shape its final outcome (30 June
2020). More...
22 Local war memorials to be restored
Local war memorials across the State will be restored and
preserved for future generations with $140,000 from the NSW
Government's Community War Memorials Fund (29 June 2020).
More...
70 per cent don't trust govt on personal data
An international survey has found Australians are highly
distrustful of government surveillance and data collection,
especially in relation to COVID-19 (29 June 2020).
More...
Changes to speed up payments to victims of crime in
NSW
Changes to the Victims Support Scheme aim to significantly
reduce the time it takes to deliver recognition payments to victims
of crime, the Department of Communities and Justice
(DCJ) announced (26 June 2020).
More...
New cyber task force to drive standards
An Australian first collaboration between the NSW
Government, AustCyber and Standards Australia has seen the creation
of a task force charged with accelerating the adoption of industry
standards for cyber security across Australia (23 June 2020). More...
Telephone Complaints: updated COVID-19 hours
The NSW Ombudsman is accepting telephone complaints, with
some slight changes to our normal service (23 June 2020).
More...
A fairer fines system – protecting NSW's most
vulnerable people
From 1 July, the NSW Government will introduce an
unprecedented initiative to reduce fine amounts for people facing
financial hardship as well as allowing everyone to pay by
instalments and providing more time for a fine to be reviewed (21
June 2020).
More...
Crime plummets during COVID-19 lockdown in NSW
New research shows that crime fell sharply in April 2020
coinciding with strict social isolation strategies introduced to
control the COVID-19 pandemic. See the
COVID-19 pandemic and crime trends in NSW (18 June 2020).
More...
New laws strengthen safeguards against sexual
exploitation
Laws to protect young people from being sexually exploited
by adults who hold positions of authority over them were passed by
NSW Parliament last night (17 June 2020).
More...
Practice and courts
New Law Council of Australia Guidelines - Equitable
Briefing Policy
The Law Council's portal for the annual reporting by
Equitable Briefing Policy adoptees (Policy
adoptees) will soon open on 1 July 2020. To assist in this
process, the Law Council has updated its Equitable Briefing Policy
Reporting Template and
Guidelines in response to feedback from previous reporting
periods. Policy adoptees have until 30 September 2020 to provide
their annual report, and will be updated once the portal is opened
on 1 July 2020.
Annual Federal Courts and Tribunals Fee Increases from 1
July 2020 - Amended Notice
The Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department has
advised that, due to a number of small errors identified in the
Annual Federal Courts and Tribunals Fee Increases Gazette Notice
published on 9 June 2020, an amended notice has been published in
the Government Notices Gazette on 29 June 2020 setting out the new
fees payable from 1 July 2020. More...
High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia Bulletin [2020] HCAB 04 (17 June
2020).
More...
Unacceptable conduct by barristers or members of the
judiciary
In order to assist members and anyone working in our
profession who may be the subject of unlawful discrimination,
sexual harassment or workplace bullying, the Association has
prepared a factsheet entitled (03 July
2020).
Jury Amendment (Additional Jurors) Regulation 2020
(NSW)
The Jury Amendment (Additional Jurors)
Regulation 2020 has been published in the Government Gazette and
commenced. As announced by the Attorney General
earlier this week, the amendment to the Jury Regulation is
necessary to address potential increases in juror absences during
the COVID-19 pandemic (03 July 2020).
NSW Land and Environment Court
COVID-19 Pandemic Arrangements Policy
1 July 2020 - The COVID-19 Pandemic Arrangements Policy is
replaced by a new Policy effective from 8 July 2020. The new Policy
sets out arrangements for the staged return to face-to-face
attendances in Court and on-site.
More...
Court Fee Increase
1 July 2020- Effective 1 July 2020 the Civil Procedure
Amendment (Fees) Regulation 2020 and Criminal
Procedure Amendment (Fees) Regulation 2020 has
increased the Court's fees by 1.5%.
More...
COVID-19: Information for Attending Court
The New South Wales Bar Association's consolidated guide to
COVID-19-related court arrangements has again been updated in terms
of recent developments (July 2020).
2020 Professional Standards Scheme commences
The fourth New South Wales Bar Association Professional
Standards Scheme commenced, 1 July 2020 and will remain in effect
until 30 June 2025 (01 July 2020).
More...
JUDCOM Sentencing Trends & Issues No 47 —
Navigating the Bail Act 2013
30 June 2020 - Georgia Brignell, Principal Research
Officer (Legal) Amanda Jamieson, Senior Research
Officer (Legal) Editors: Pierrette Mizzi,
Director, Research Anne Murphy, Senior Editor
(Legal)Judicial officers make important decisions
concerning bail. More...
NCAT: Changes to uncollected goods laws
From 1 July 2020, you can apply to NCAT to resolve a
complaint or dispute about uncollected goods. The changes also
consolidate the existing uncollected goods provisions in various
Acts, including tenancy, social housing, strata, residential
communities, holiday parks, and retirement villages (01 July 2020).
More...
NCAT fees and charges from 1 July 2020
NCAT's fees and charges for the filing of
applications, appeals and other services will change on 1 July
2020. A general 1.5% increase will be applied to all NCAT fees and
charges. Certain application types continue to have no fee
including community services matters and Guardianship Division
applications (29 June 2020).
More...
NSW IPC Bulletin
It includes quarterly updates on the IPC's recent
activities, resources and guidance, links to new case notes,
information about upcoming events, and other relevant issues and
developments in information access and privacy.
More...
New ICAC supplier due diligence guide to help public
sector take good care when doing business
The ICAC has released a new guide to help the NSW public
sector conduct due diligence checks on potential suppliers (17 June
2020).
More...
Decisions of interest
The NSW Court of Appeal has published its latest Decisions
of Interest Bulletin on the Judicial Commission's Court of Appeal webpage
(26 June 2020).
More...
Court of Appeal's Decisions of Interest
bulletin
The Decisions of Interest bulletin is a regular publication
produced by the Court of Appeal, summarising appellate decisions
from Australia and internationally.
More...
Resumption of defended hearings in the Local Court of
NSW – information for solicitors
The Law Society is working with the NSW Local Court to assist the
profession return to work in defended matters as soon as possible.
It is in the interests of the Court and solicitors for this to
occur. Solicitors should familiarise themselves with the Chief
Magistrate's Memoranda 9, 10 and 11 in this regard.
More...
NSW Land Registry Services (NSW LRS) fees for
2020/2021
The NSW LRS fees for products and services involving land titles,
plans, property information and the Water Access Licence Register
will change for the 2020/2021 financial year. See NSW
LRS Announcement and the
2020/2021 NSW LRS Fee Update. Note that the 2019/2020 fees will
be applied to land title dealings and plans lodged before 1 July
2020 but not finalised until after 1 July 2020.
Published – articles, papers, reports
Gender Equity Insights 2020: delivering the business outcomes
Rebecca Cassells,Alan Duncan; Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre - This 2020 report makes an important contribution to the evidence that increasing the share of women in leadership leads to subsequent improvements in company performance (19 June 2020). More...
Civil society after COVID: on re-building a virtuous civic culture
Peter Kurti; Centre for Independent Studies - Australia faces an unprecedented economic and social challenge. In addition to economic recovery, the equally crucial work of civic repair is required as part of the social transition out of the Covid-19 pandemic (17 June 2020). More...
Cases
Gillies v Legal Aid Commission of New South
Wales [2020] NSWSC 836
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW — Particular administrative
bodies — Legal Aid — decision of Legal Aid Commission
not to grant legal aid — whether Court has jurisdiction to
review decision — whether error of law or jurisdictional
error
EBJ v Secretary, Department of Communities and
Justice [2020] NSWCATAD
166
ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW – Child Protection –
Authorised carers – Where designated agency decided that no
further children would be placed with the applicant authorised
carers – Whether decision is an administratively reviewable
decision
Department of Communities and Justice v
Zonnevylle [2020] NSWCATAP 126
STATUTORY INTERPRETATION – access to government
information – where applicant applied for government
information but did not include such information as was reasonably
necessary to enable the government information applied for to be
identified – whether application wholly invalid - meaning of
phrase "the government information applied for" in s
41(1)(e) of Government Information (Public Access)
Act 2009
Chetcuti v The University of Sydney
[2020] NSWCATAD 164
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – personal information of a
person other than the applicant - whether there is public interest
against the disclosure of the information sought and on balance,
that public interest against disclosure overrides the public
interest in favour of disclosure – client privilege –
in-house lawyers – independence –reasonable
searches
Chief Commissioner of State Revenue v Downer EDI
Engineering Pty Ltd [2020] NSWCA
126
STATUTORY INTERPRETATION – Payroll Tax Act 2007
(NSW) – ss 32(2)(a) and 32(2)(d)(i) – relevant contract
–whether payments made under a subcontract were exempt from
payroll tax – whether legal title required to pass for there
to be a supply of goods – whether payments were made
"under" the subcontract – whether installation
services were "ancillary" to the supply of goods
STATUTORY INTERPRETATION – Taxation Administration Act 1996
(NSW) – ss 25 and 33 – whether the power to remit
penalty tax and interest is limited
Page v Commissioner of Police
[2020] NSWCATAD 163
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – access to government
information – access application – public interests in
favour of disclosure – public interests against disclosure
– whether overriding public interest against disclosure
EFR v Commissioner of Police
[2020] NSWCATAD 159
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – privacy – exemption
– NSW Police Force - administrative and educative
functions
Commissioner of Police, New South Wales Police Force v
Kumar (OBO National Union of Students) [2020]
NSWSC 804
PUBLIC ASSEMBLY – Summary Offences Act 1988 (NSW)
– whether an order pursuant to s 25(1) of the Summary
Offences Act 1988 (NSW) should be made prohibiting the holding of a
public assembly – order made
Hussein v Sydney Trains [2020]
NSWCATAD 155
HUMAN RIGHTS — discrimination — whether
power to dismiss complaint summarily under s 102 of the
Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 should be exercised
WORDS AND PHRASES — meaning of "misconceived" and
"lacking in substance" EVIDENCE — drawing of
inferences – permissible inference v conjecture and
speculation
ECN v Commissioner of Police
[2020] NSWCATAD 153
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – public access to government
information – Request for information by complainant about a
complaint under Part 8A of Police Act 1990 alleging police
misconduct – Whether prejudice to the supply of confidential
information – Whether prejudice to the effective exercise of
an agency's functions – Whether disclosure would reveal a
deliberation, consultation, opinion or advice – Whether
prejudice an investigation – Whether prejudice the
prevention, detection or investigation of a contravention or
possible contravention of law – Personal information –
balancing public interest considerations
Baldwin v State of New South Wales
[2020] NSWCA 112
CRIME – extended supervision order –
conditions of order – order requiring consent to searches
– validity – whether privilege against
self-incrimination abrogated – Crimes (High Risk Offenders)
Act 2006 (NSW), s 11
STATUTORY INTERPRETATION – statutory powers – privilege
against self-incrimination – abrogation of privilege –
conditions imposed under extended supervision order – consent
to searches required – clear statement principle –
effect of Crimes (High Risk Offenders) Act 2006 (NSW), s 11
STATUTORY INTERPRETATION – statutory powers –
conditions imposed under extended supervision order –
validity – requirement of reasonable belief to initiate
search – whether conditions purport to direct or regulate
conduct of officers – whether conditions authorised seizure
of third party property
Legislation
NSW
Regulations and other miscellaneous instruments
Administrative
Arrangements (Administration of Acts—Amendment No 4) Order
2020 (2020-368) — published LW 1 July 2020
Administrative
Arrangements (Administrative Changes—Miscellaneous) Order
2020 (2020-369) — published LW 1 July 2020
Jury
Amendment (Additional Jurors) Regulation 2020 (2020-371)
— published LW 3 July 2020
Public
Health Amendment (COVID-19 Spitting and Coughing) Regulation (No 2)
2020 (2020-372) — published LW 3 July 2020
Civil
and Administrative Tribunal Amendment (Fees) Regulation 2020
(2020-302) — published LW 26 June 2020
Civil
Procedure Amendment (Fees) Regulation 2020 (2020-303) —
published LW 26 June 2020
Crimes
(Administration of Sentences) Amendment (Inmate Mail) Regulation
2020 (2020-307) — published LW 26 June 2020
Crimes
(Administration of Sentences) Amendment (Uses of Biometric Data)
Regulation 2020 (2020-308) — published LW 26 June
2020
Criminal
Procedure Amendment (Fees) Regulation 2020 (2020-309) —
published LW 26 June 2020
Victims
Rights and Support (Victims Support Levy) Notice 2020
(2020-326) — published LW 26 June 2020
Bills assented to
Crimes Amendment (Special Care Offences) Act 2020 No
11 — Assented to 23 June 2020
To strengthen NSW's 'special care' offences which hold
to account adults in positions of authority who engage in sexual
activity with 16 or 17 year olds under their care.
Law Enforcement Conduct Commission Amendment Act 2020 No
13 — Assented to 23 June 2020
The object of this Bill is to amend the eligibility requirements
for appointment of the Chief Commissioner and alternate Chief
Commissioner of the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission
For the full text of Bills, and details on the passage of Bills, see Bills.
Reminder: Bills passed by both Houses of Parliament
Evidence Amendment (Tendency and Coincidence) Bill
2020
Enables more evidence about an accused person's sexual interest
in children to be considered by the jury in child sexual assault
proceedings. The reforms will commence on 1 July 2020.
Bills revised following amendment in Committee – 18 June 2020
Constitution Amendment (Water Accountability and
Transparency) Bill 2020
Status: In Parliament. Amended in LA: 17/06/2020
Proclamations commencing Acts
Fines Amendment Act 2019 No 13
(2020-272) — published LW 19 June 2020
This publication does not deal with every important topic or change in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you have found this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances please contact one of the named individuals listed.