Government services 5 Minute Fix 04

Administrative law

There are always plenty of administrative law decision in the courts and tribunals around the country; we've selected some notable recent highlights for our Administrative Law Updates:

• The Palace Letters released: The High Court has determined that the Palace Letters are Commonwealth records under the Archives Act. The National Archives must now re-consider their release.
• Of knights and dames: Letters from Australian Prime Ministers to the Queen: The Administrative Appeals Tribunal says that disclosure of communications with the Sovereign would damage Australia's international relations.
• The perils of procrastination: Decision-makers should be aware of the consequences that can flow from undue delay in making a decision.
• Calculating time in legislation – a matter of interpretation: Interpretation acts will apply to the calculation of time in other legislation – subject to evidence of a contrary intention.

Our Administrative Law Mythbuster series brings you up-to-date on the latest interpretations of some of the area's classic cases, and how they affect your day-to-day decision-making. The most recent mythbuster tackled Briganshaw, 82 years on: are you bound by it? If not, what use is it to a decision-maker? Learn more here.

Finally, we revisit the Blue Sky case, and its guidance for determining whether a decision is a nullity. Learn more here.

Privacy

Without question COVID-19 has posed the most significant and fundamental challenges to all aspects of working life. This Government Briefing canvasses the key challenges for the public sector information handling practices in the COVID-19 world now and extending beyond that to the medium term.

Procurement

In this time of heightened procurement, Governments across the nation are reviewing their current procurement regimes and, where appropriate, introducing  or engaging emergency measures, but not all changes have been COVID-related. For public sector agencies and their procurement teams, this means considering each procurement on a case-by-case basis. We've kept up with the latest developments in procurement here:

• Queensland state and local government procurement obligations and opportunities during emergencies: new COVID-19 guide: Public sector agencies, local government and their procurement teams should consider emergency procurement on a case-by-case basis.
• Procurement of public construction works and services in Victoria in response to COVID-19: Victorian agencies may be permitted to use a “Limited Tender” process in certain circumstances to rapidly procure construction works or services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• WA's Procurement Bill 2020 to fundamentally change the way the WA Government procures goods, services and works:The new Procurement Bill 2020 will streamline government procurement, maximising opportunities for businesses to supply to government. It will introduce greater transparency in public procurement and a debarment regime to exclude suppliers who break the law.