New Year’s legislation Extensive legislative amendments, principally affecting the role of the Local Government Inspector (Inspector), came into force on 1 January 2026.  Some of the amendments also affect the way in which behavioural breach complaints against Council...

A growing area of concern in the modern digital landscape is that of copyright infringement, and local governments are not exempt from this risk. Use of images on websites, marketing material or the like, without the adequate rights to do so, can result in costly...

Whilst local governments have to date been an exempt entity under the Federal Privacy Act 1988 (Cth) (Federal Privacy Act), local governments are set to become a designated public entity in new legislation being introduced into WA Parliament that seeks to protect the...

Changes to the law on unfair contact terms (UCT) came into effect on 9 November 2023.  The changes broaden the scope of the UCT regime, and introduce significant pecuniary penalties on anyone who proposes, applies or relies on an ‘unfair term’. Prior to entering into...

Overview Under the common law, as a general rule, decision-makers are disqualified from acting in a matter where they have a bias, actual or apprehended.  A breach of the rule may result in any decision being rendered invalid.  Yet under the local government law in...

The recent decision of Archer J in Reid v City of Gosnells [2023] WASC 48 has called into question the power of local governments to provide public works within their districts. This article considers the legislative history and context for the provision of public...