Handbook

The course builds on students’ knowledge of administrative law by covering a range of advanced topics relevant to modern government legal practice in Australia. These topics include: how administrative law has responded to changes in the size, structure, functions and decision-making structures of government; the obligations of administrative decision-makers to comply with human rights; remedies for maladministration; and statutory interpretation. The course considers both doctrinal and policy aspects of these topics, and brings in comparative perspectives.

Main Topics

• an evaluation of different remedies which may be available against government decision-makers, and how they interact

• the centrality of “government” for public law, and the question of whether it remains an organising principle in light of the state's increasing use of private sector bodies for governmental purposes

• judicial review of private sector bodies and other remedies available against public bodies

• the obligations of government decision-makers to comply with human rights and how these obligations are enforced in Australia

• the role of ‘soft law’ in Australian government decision-making and the accountability challenges it presents