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The Australian government has commenced Tranche 2 of the EPBC Act reforms, establishing the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA) and Environment Information Australia (EIA) as independent bodies. While these institutional changes take effect immediately, key substantive amendments including new tests for unacceptable impacts, net gain offsets, and national environmental standards remain pending until December 2026.

The Australian Attorney-General has now released the Discussion Paper for the Regulations to be made under the Personal Property Securities Act.

In 2016, significant administrative law cases were handed down by the NSW Court of Appeal, and by Commonwealth courts.

In the recent decision of Gwandalan and Summerland Point Action Group Inc v Minister for Planning his honour Justice Lloyd of the NSW Land and Environment Court declared void approvals given by the then Minister for Planning, Frank Sartor (Minister), for a large residential development at Catherine Hill Bay and Gwandalan. His honour held that the Minister's approvals were affected by a reasonable apprehension of bias.

The 2017 COAG agreement on identity matching services committed all Australian governments to share identity information.

An FOI decision-maker should first merely examine documents on their face to decide if consultation is needed.

This case revisited the basic principles governing the interpretation and application of defined terms in legislation.

The article outlines some of the key policy and legislative developments in 2014 in Australia and in New South Wales.

Aston Coal 2 Pty Ltd is the first company prosecuted for failure to report the making of a reportable political donation.

On 26 November 2009, the Federal Government introduced into Parliament the Information Commissioner Bill 2009 and the Freedom of Information Amendment (Reform) Bill 2009, and moved one step closer to fully implementing its promised FOI reforms.

Voting in Australia is compulsory - we can be fined up to $50 for not voting without a valid reason.

While prevention is always preferable, council preventative measures and effective response plans are necessary.

On 30 April 2009, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) agreed to create a National Legal Profession Reform Taskforce (Taskforce) to establish a nationally uniform set of laws and rules governing the legal profession in Australia. The creation of the Taskforce was a defining moment in the area of legal profession reform, a movement which began in its modern form with the Law Council of Australia’s 1994 paper, Blueprint for the Structure of the Legal Profession.

This decision highlights issues faced by NSW councils when asked for access to objections to a development application.

The proposed law could help stamp out tax evasion and money laundering, but it may also be an attack on civil liberties.

Businesses should remember these key facts if making a political donation before the next NSW state election in 2015.

On 1 May 2013 the NSW Parliament passed the Powers of Attorney Amendment Bill 2013.