In the media
Whole-of-Government Legal Services Panel commences
The Morrison Government has launched a new era in the
provision of legal services to the Commonwealth, with the
commencement of the first Whole of Government Legal Services Panel.
The Panel, comprising more than 60 specialist legal providers from
across Australia and across a wide range of service expertise, will
provide the bulk of the Commonwealth's external legal services
until 2024 (16 August 2019).
More...
'Creeping crisis' of legitimacy for Australian
Public Service
Australia's public sector faces a "creeping
crisis" of effectiveness and legitimacy caused by blunt
management tools and cultural inertia, according to a wide-ranging
survey of public servants (15 August 2019).
More...
Mining giant loses fight to keep Paradise Papers
revelations out of ATO's reach
Australia's biggest coal producer, Glencore, loses a
High Court bid to have documents linked to its offshore financial
arrangements kept out of reach of the Australian Tax Office
(ATO) by invoking legal privilege (14 August
2019).
More...
Chatbot to make solving legal issues simple
The NSW Government will invest $250,000 into designing and
building a chatbot that will help vulnerable people solve common
legal problems with speed and ease, Attorney General Mark Speakman
announced. Marrickville Legal Centre will pioneer the technology
after becoming the first recipient of a grant from the
government's new Access to Justice Innovation Fund (14 August
2019).
More...
AFP won't rule out charging journalists in leak
investigations
Journalists who published stories based on leaked, highly
classified information and were later raided by the Australian
Federal Police could still be charged, an intelligence committee
hearing is told (14 August 2019).
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National security laws should not unduly limit free
press, says Law Council
Disclosure of classified intelligence information by
journalists and whistleblowers should only be criminalised if it
can be proven there is a real threat to national security, says the
Law Council of Australia. In its submission to the PJCIS press
freedoms inquiry, the Law Council said currently there was a broad
scope of journalistic conduct that may be innocuous but could be
caught under espionage, sabotage and foreign interference laws (14
August 2019).
More...
Why an Australian charter of rights is a matter of
national urgency
If anyone doubts the need for a charter of rights in
Australia, the Banerji decision of the High Court handed down
demonstrates why legislative protection for our common law freedoms
has become a matter of national urgency (13 August 2019).
More...
Get the balance right on farm trespass laws, says Law
Council
Proposed farm incitement of trespass laws would duplicate
existing state and territory provisions and could stifle legitimate
public debate, says the Law Council of Australia. While the Law
Council recognised trespass, property damage and theft was unlawful
and could cause harm to farming properties, all jurisdictions
already had laws criminalising the incitement of such conduct (12
August 2019).
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LSC: Draft Legal Profession Uniform Admission Amendment
(Qualifications) Rule 2019 (Draft Rule)
The Legal Services Council has released, for public
comment for a period of at least 30 days, the draft Legal
Profession Uniform Admission Amendment (Qualifications) Rule 2019
(Draft Rule) in accordance with s 426 of the Uniform Law. The Draft
Rule relates to the admission of foreign lawyers in NSW and
Victoria, a function performed by the admitting authorities in each
State (09 August 2019).
More...
It 'doesn't make sense': Judge blasts rule
behind Opal Tower class action delay
A multi-million-dollar class action by owners of units in
the notorious Opal Towers against the NSW Government faces a
month-long delay due to a historical practice note a Supreme Court
judge says "doesn't make sense" (09 August 2019).
More...
Last offender sentenced for the terrorist killing of
Curtis Cheng
One of the CDPP's most high-profile and important
series of cases came to a close when Mr Mustafa Dirani (25) was
sentenced for his role in the act of terrorism which resulted in
the death of NSW Police accountant, Mr Curtis Cheng (09 August
2019).
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Accessible reproductive healthcare must be the priority
as NSW moves closer to decriminalising abortion
The passage of the NSW Reproductive Healthcare Reform Bill
through the Legislative Assembly is a long awaited step towards
decriminalisation of abortion in NSW (09 August 2019).
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BOSCAR: The effect of Lockout laws on assault: Latest
data
The Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research has updated
our evaluation of the Lockout laws on assaults in Sydney for an
extended follow up period. Commenting on the findings, acting
executive director of BOCSAR, Jackie Fitzgerald said that while the
Lockout reforms have reduced assaults, their benefit is diminishing
over time (09 August 2019).
More...
OAIC joins with global privacy regulators to call for
more information from the Libra Network
International data protection and privacy regulators are
calling on Facebook and the Libra Network to explain how they will
secure and protect personal information as part of their global
cryptocurrency project (06 August 2019).
More...
Multicultural students learn about their legal
rights
The annual court open days offered the newly-arrived
migrants and refugees the opportunity to learn about the NSW
justice system and how courts operate in NSW (06 August 2019).
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In practice and courts
High Court Practice Direction 1 of 2019
The High Court has recently issued a new practice
direction, which applies to matters set down after 1 October 2019.
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High Court (2020) Sittings Rules 2019
The High Court has provided a
copy of the Rule of Court appointing the High Court sittings
for 2020. The Rule of Court appoints the Full Court sittings to be
held in Canberra throughout the year and the days on which special
leave applications will be heard. Sittings of the Court will
continue to be held in Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart and Perth as
required (August 2019).
Attorney General: Purchasing legal services - Whole of
Australian Government Legal Services Panel
The Whole of Australian Government Legal Services Panel
commenced on 15 August 2019.
The panel consists of five broad Areas of Law, comprising a number
of Practice Areas as set out
here.
Federal Court of Australia: Notice to the Profession
regarding Use of Junior Counsel
The Hon J L B Allsop AO, Chief Justice of the Federal
Court of Australia, has issued a Notice to the Profession on the
use of Junior Counsel. The note indicates that the Federal Court of
Australia encourages the active participation of junior counsel
where two counsel are briefed for a party (12 August 2019).
More...
LSC Public consultation: Proposed new rules regarding
practice administration
The Legal Services Council (LSC) invites
public comment on the
draft Legal Profession Uniform Amendment (Miscellaneous) Rule
2019 (Draft Rule) in accordance with s 425 of the Uniform Law.
More...
Government to consult on proposal to establish a single
personal injury tribunal
The Minister for Customer Service has
announced the Government's support for the establishment of
a single personal injury tribunal to hear workers compensation and
compulsory third party disputes. The Minister has also announced
that the Government will be conducting a consultation process
regarding an appropriate model for the new tribunal (09 August
2019).
More...
Consultation paper: Mandatory notification of data
breaches by NSW public sector agencies
The paper aims at seeking feedback on whether NSW public
sector agencies should be required to notify the NSW Privacy
Commissioner and affected individuals if a breach of privacy
occurs; and how the key elements of a mandatory notification scheme
should operate (if implemented in NSW).
More...
ICAC public inquiry into lobbying starts
The ICAC's public inquiry into the regulation of
lobbying, access and influence in NSW (Operation Eclipse) started
on 5 August 2019.
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ICAC: Public inquiry into allegations concerning
political donations
The NSW ICAC will hold a public inquiry starting 26 August
2019 as part of an investigation it is conducting into allegations
concerning political donations, the NSW Branch of the Australian
Labor Party (ALP), members of Chinese Friends of Labor and others.
More...
ICAC: Operation Ember public inquiry continues Thursday
1 August 2019
The NSW ICAC Operation Ember public inquiry will continue
on 1 August 2019. The inquiry was scheduled to sit on Friday 2
August, and on 8 and 9 August (30 July 2019).
More...
Adoption of mandatory data breach notification
The Department of Communities and Justice is seeking
feedback on whether a mandatory reporting scheme for data breaches
should be adopted under the Privacy and Personal Information
Protection Act 1998.
More...
NSW LRC: Open Justice Review - court and tribunal
information: Access, disclosure and publication
The Attorney General has asked us to review the operation
of suppression and non-publication orders and access to information
in NSW courts and tribunals.
More...
Published – articles, papers, reports
The effect of lockout and last drinks laws on
non-domestic assaults in Sydney: An update to March 2019
Neil Donnelly, Suzanne Poynton
NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research: 08 August 2019
This research set out to examine the long term impact of the 2014
NSW liquor law amendments on non-domestic assaults in Kings Cross,
the Sydney CBD and surrounding areas. As in previous studies, a
significant reduction in non-domestic assaults in the Kings Cross
and Sydney CBD precincts was revealed. More...
Cases
Edwards v Commissioner for Fair Trading, Department of
Finance, Services and Innovation [2019]
NSWCATAP 208
APPEAL – licensing and regulation – leave to
appeal on a ground other than a question of law – whether
Tribunal's decision unjust – whether significant new
evidence had arisen since the hearing below
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW - practice and procedure - Agency's duty to
produce documents under s 58 Administrative Decisions Review
Act 1997.
Alajmi v Macquarie University
[2019] NSWSC 1026
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – reviewability –
justiciability – subject matter of power or decision –
matter of academic judgement – decision by a university
thesis supervisor not to certify that a doctoral thesis met the
University's preparation requirement that the thesis was the
student's "own work" – findings of an
investigatory panel into allegations of plagiarism against the
student taken into account – not an exercise of public power
– impermissible merits review
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – legal unreasonableness – whether
the "non-certification decision" and the panel's
findings were legally unreasonable – Briginshaw standard did
not apply – inferences made were reasonably open and
logically available – not legally unreasonable – no
irrelevant consideration – no apprehended bias – no
impermissible fetter of discretion or subjugation of state of
satisfaction
CONTRACTS – implied terms – parties agreed to be bound
by the University's By-laws and Rules – no term that the
parties also agreed to be bound by the University's Code,
Policy and Procedure should be implied
CONTRACTS – legal unreasonableness – alleged failure to
exercise a unilateral contractual discretion reasonably –
"non-certification decision" not legally
unreasonable
ESTOPPEL – estoppel by convention – mutual assumption
– assumptions not supported by the evidence
ESTOPPEL – estoppel by representation – detrimental
reliance – representations not made – representations
not relied upon.
Saul v Department of Fair Trading
[2019] NSWCATAD 161
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – disciplinary decisions –
whether fit and proper person to hold a licence Administrative
Decisions Review Act 1997 (NSW); Property Stock and
Business Agents Act 2002 (NSW).
DQN v University of Sydney [2019]
NSWCATAD 159
ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – freedom of information –
access to information concerning a preliminary assessment report of
a complaint made by 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 – confidential
information – personal information of a person other than the
applicant.
DMW and DMX v NSW Rural Fire Service [2019] NSWCATAD
158
Administrative Law – privacy and personal
information whether collection of personal information – use
of personal information – disclosure of personal information
- whether agency exempt from compliance with information protection
principle - law enforcement purposes.
Lilli v Building Professionals Board [2019] NSWCATOD
119
The respondent is to refund the balance of $5,000.00 to Mr
Lilli within 28 days of this decision.
ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW – accredited certifier – findings
of unsatisfactory professional conduct – disciplinary orders
- Administrative Decisions Review Act 1997.
Legislation
Regulations and other miscellaneous instruments
Administrative
Decisions Review Regulation 2019 (2019-380) — published
LW 16 August 2019
Anti-Discrimination
Regulation 2019 (2019-381) — published LW 16 August
2019
Children
(Protection and Parental Responsibility) Regulation 2019
(2019-382) — published LW 16 August 2019
Children's
Court Regulation 2019 (2019-383) — published LW 16 August
2019
Civil
Liability Regulation 2019 (2019-384) — published LW 16
August 2019 Proportionate liability
Crimes
(Domestic and Personal Violence) Regulation 2019 (2019-386)
— published LW 16 August 2019
Privacy
and Personal Information Protection Regulation 2019 (2019-391)
— published LW 16 August 2019
Status
of Children Regulation 2019 (2019-395) — published LW 16
August 2019
Victims
Rights and Support Regulation 2019 (2019-398) — published
LW 16 August 2019
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.