Public Sector

Overview

Governments face unique challenges. Every decision must pass public, political and legal scrutiny, and must comply with rules specific to the public sector, such as financial management and accountability regimes, and constitutional, legislative and ethical obligations. Budgetary constraints can drive innovation, but also create new legal questions and needs. Above all, there's the weighty responsibility of the public trust, and the knowledge that what you do affects everyone.

We know – many of our team worked in Government agencies before joining us. We advise over 250 public sector organisations across Commonwealth, State, Territory and Local Governments, on the full range of public law issues, starting with legislative development and drafting through to statutory interpretation and administrative decision-making, drafting instruments and delegations, regulatory issues, FOI, privacy and information access issues.

That deep knowledge of public law informs our work for Government on its broader activities, such as litigation including government inquiries (and the need to act as a model litigant), major infrastructure projects and procurements, funding and grant arrangements, commercial transactions and privatisations that must be both commercially prudent and comply with all relevant legal and regulatory State and Commonwealth frameworks including those relating to procurement, corporate governance, privacy, data and cyber security.