Australia: Constitutional & Administrative Law

Victoria's planning reforms introduce a provision that could fundamentally alter how permit decisions are made by allowing councils to specify which policy considerations are relevant to particular applications. This change challenges the longstanding National Trust principle that has limited decision-makers to considering only matters relevant to the purpose of specific planning controls. How will this hybrid approach to relevance reshape the balance between purposive interpretation and codified policy con

Australia's Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water has released consultation papers outlining the regulatory framework for the final phase of environmental protection reforms under the EPBC Act. With submissions closing on 13 October 2026 and implementation scheduled for 1 December 2026, these reforms will fundamentally reshape how projects are assessed and approved, introducing streamlined pathways...

New South Wales legislation introduced in August 2026 would significantly expand police powers to compel individuals to unlock their digital devices during organised crime investigations, even without a search warrant. The proposed reforms would increase penalties for non-compliance to seven years imprisonment while enabling forensic extraction of entire device contents including encrypted messages, location history, and deleted data.

In Abdel-Hady v Commonwealth of Australia [2026] HCA 17, the High Court unanimously rejected a novel defence advanced by the Commonwealth to a claim for false imprisonment arising from immigration detention later...

The second phase of New South Wales' most expansive overhaul of firearms regulation recently took place, marking the biggest leap in firearms and gun licence laws since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre. The reforms are enshrined in the Terrorism and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2025 (NSW), and were passed in an emergency sitting just days after the Bondi Beach terror attack in December 2025.

The NDIS Integrity and Safeguarding Act 2026 fundamentally transforms the regulatory landscape for disability service providers through dramatically increased civil penalties reaching up to $3.64 million per contravention, new criminal offences for unregistered providers, and expanded enforcement powers for the NDIS Quality and Safeguards Commission.

The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Act 2024 (Cth) (‘AML/CTF’, ‘the Amendment’) amends the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006...

On 20 April 2026, the Fair Work Commission’s Expert Panel made the Road Transport Contractual Chain Order – Fuel Cost Recovery – 2026 (RTCCO) in response to rising fuel prices driven by the conflict in...

The NSW Court of Appeal has struck down sweeping anti-protest laws enacted after the Bondi Beach terror attack, ruling that police powers to ban public assemblies across broad geographic areas violated constitutional protections for political communication. The landmark decision examines whether governments can impose blanket restrictions on peaceful protests during times of heightened security concerns, and what constitutional limits exist on such powers.