730-365 Administrative Law

Legal Method and Reasoning; Principles of Public Law; Constitutional Law or in each case their equivalents.

Administrative Law regulates the relationship between the state and its people, in other words, the relationship between the government and the governed. In particular, it regulates the powers and procedures of the executive branch of government and establishes the mechanisms for ensuring legality, transparency and accountability in executive decision-making. This subject completes the core curriculum's examination of the legal framework of government in Australia. Topics include:

• I ntroduction:

  • development of executive government and administrative law;

  • identifying and interpreting sources of executive power: constitutions, prerogative, common law, statute, guidelines, policies;

  • scope of executive power, including the federal division of power;

  • types of executive power, including the concept of discretion;

  • the functions of administrative law in regulating executive power;

• accountability for the exercise of executive power:

  • making and scrutiny of delegated legislation;

  • access to information;

  • reasons for Administrative decisions;

  • non-adjudicative review: parliament, the ombudsman and others;

  • tribunals and merits review;

• judicial review of administrative decisions:

  • avenues of judicial review:

    • Commonwealth decisions: the ADJR Act: the Constitution; and the Judiciary Act;

    • state decisions: 056 statutory 'appeal' provisions and the Administrative Law Act;

  • judicial review procedure;

  • standing and accessibility;

  • jurisdictional error;

  • judicial review grounds;

  • remedies and the effect of flawed decisions;

  • excluding/limiting judicial review;

• administrative law in an era of privatisation and outsourcing.

An online Skills Assignment (hurdle requirement - due in the first half of the semester), a written assignment 2500 words 40% (due week 8) and a final open-book examination three hours 60%.

Printed materials will be issued by the Faculty of Law.

• Creyke & McMillan, Control of Government Action. LexisNexis, 2005.