- with Senior Company Executives and HR
- with readers working within the Property and Construction & Engineering industries
In our NSW Government Lawyers Annual CLE Series, we recapped recent developments in the law, highlighted current issues and profiled key skills for the year ahead, including:
- recent developments in work health and safety enforcement in NSW
- the challenges and opportunities arising from planning law reforms aimed at increasing housing supply
- legal risks that arise from the use of AI in government
- methods to bullet proof legal research results
- designing a litigation decision making matrix
- ethical challenges for government lawyers and how traditional duties are applied in today's technology-enabled legal environment
- tools for designing user-friendly legal documents for internal teams.
If you were unable to attend the sessions or still need to meet your CPD requirements by 31 March 2026, on-demand recordings for the series are available below, with each session accounting for 1 CPD unit.
WHS: What government lawyers need to know about the new enforcement landscape in NSW and Industrial Court decisions
Presented by Senior Associate Jessica Alamyar
This session examined the WHS prosecution decisions of the reconstituted NSW Industrial Court and provides government lawyers with an update on the recent WHS legislative changes introduced in NSW.
The four primary areas of focus for public sector legal practitioners covered include:
- the Re-established Industrial Court of NSW - which has authority to hear WHS prosecutions
- what's new in the law - the new era for SafeWork as a standalone regulator and it's priorities, including some recent enforcement action transferrable to government context
- new WHS duties relating to psychosocial hazards and digit systems- particularly relevant to government agencies as it presents a new area of potential liability
- emergency sentencing patterns
- key takeaways
Going for gold -an overview of the amended planning legislation
Presented by Partner Thomas Kwok
The amended Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 seeks to 'go for gold' in increasing housing supply in New South Wales. We explain what has changed and what the challenges and opportunities are.
AI and the government: Risks and opportunities
Presented by Partner Elizabeth Carroll & Special Counsel Samantha Haddon
This session explores the legal risks, challenges and opportunities that arise from the use of AI within the Government space from an intellectual property, administrative and contractual perspective. Our speakers also cover lessons that can be learnt from the Commonwealth's approach, including the recently released "Policy for the Responsible Use of AI in Government"and AI model contractual clauses.
How to bullet proof your legal research results with rigorous fact checking
Presented by Chief Knowledge Officer, Keren Smith
Legal research has always been core to the practice of law. AI has unlocked new time-saving opportunities to augment the current skill sets of lawyers, however correct legal research technique and fact checking remains essential for ensuring accurate, precise, and on-point research results.
The presentation includes:
- how AI is impacting the way in which we approach legal research
- a prompting framework for using with legal generative AI
- tips for minimising risk when using AI enabled legal research
- an overview of the latest Australian developments in AI enabled research
- how to research effectively with FREE tools such as Jade, Legify, AustLII, government websites and Advanced Google
- setting up FREE news alerts, legislation, and case law alerts
- guidance on tools that are worth purchasing if you have the budget.
Designing a litigation decision making matrix
Presented by Partner Christine Jones & Partner Rob Lawson
Earlier last year, a client asked us for samples of a decision making matrix used by other agencies/states/tiers of government when considering whether to bring discretionary claims as plaintiff. Guess what? There weren't any. So we went out to the shed and built one ourselves. This workshop looks at "the one we prepared earlier"and tweak and challenge it under Chatham House Rules. You'll then have a peer reviewed model which can be further customised for your agency.
Ethics in practice: Fundamental duties and modern challenges
Presented by Partner Jessica Tilbury & National Risk and Compliance Manager Kristin Watkins
Ethical obligations remain central to the practice of law, regardless of practice setting. This session revisits the core duties owed by lawyers to their clients, the courts and regulators, including fiduciary duties, confidentiality, legal professional privilege, and compliance with professional conduct rules. It will explore ethical issues commonly encountered by lawyers in practice, with a focused discussion on issues unique to government lawyers. The presentation will also examine how traditional ethical principles are tested and applied in today's technology-enabled legal environment.
Designing user-friendly legal documents for internal teams
Presented by Special Counsel Emily Booth and National Precedents Manager Nicki Greenberg
Document design matters. Whether it's a contract template, assessment form, checklist, policy or an instruction brief, good planning and design saves time for the internal client and the legal team, improves engagement with internal clients, and delivers clearer, more accurate instructions. Learn from our commercial legal and precedents experts about their experience in making legal documents clearer and easier to use.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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