Our newsletter covers current issues relating to governance and regulation. Some issues deal with specific themes or sectors. They express opinions and are of a general nature (they are not legal advice).
Government objectives, private service delivery - can statutes and contracts be harmonised?
Statute law and contract law - oil and water? Not necessarily. We consider schedule of rates contracts, PPP’s and performance measures. And … we consider public transport in Queensland: who is accountable for achieving minimum performance levels?
University complaints, reviews and appeals
University decisions are made in a complex regulatory framework. This newsletter identifies components of that framework and comments on systems for complaint handling (internal and external), reviews and appeals.
September 2020 (edition 11)
Evidence-based policy decisions
With all the talk about data-driven responses to the current COVID 19 pandemic we thought it was timely to have a look at evidence-based decisions. The idea is not new - regulatory impact statements provide evidence to support the making of regulations. And who could forget our courts: evidence-based decision makers par excellence.
July 2018 (edition 10)
A functional analysis of legislation
Legislation is forward-looking. Always. This characteristic affects its design and its function. We propose a classification of legislation, including command and control legislation and Acts conferring, referring or ceding power. And also … deferral of decision-making - is this good or bad? Temporal shift?!
October 2017 (edition 9)
Holistic interpretation of legislation
An Act is more than an collection of legislative provisions assembled around a topic: it should be interpreted holistically - what is the Act all about? This newsletter looks at some aspects of holistic interpretation. What’s in a name? What is to be made of examples? And the fine print up the back - how are schedules to be interpreted?
Earlier newsletters:
February 2015 (edition 8): Universities as law-makers. Universities as law-makers, legislative hierarchy, what are regulations good for?, university governance instruments. Included is a table of university governance instruments, their important features and responsible entities. Read more in our February 2015 DL Newsletter.
December 2011 (edition 7): Scrapping of local laws - the morning after …: The scrapping of local laws ... public participation in the process of making primary legislation – Indonesia’s Law on Making Laws ... infrastructure in road reserves ... road encroachments 4,000 years ago ... regulatory burden and the legal profession – how did this happen? ... road administration: identifying stakeholders.
January 2011 (edition 6): Promise and delivery: Victoria’s Subordinate Legislation Amendment Bill (its name promised little: what does it deliver?) ... New Zealand's three-yearly revision program (the name promises much: what does it deliver?) ... statutory objectives - what are we trying to achieve here? ... Indonesia's local law scrapheap - which local laws are cancelled, and why, a listing of issues to be addressed.
July 2010 (edition 5): Infrastructure and its regulatory environment: Infrastructure and its regulatory framework (why regulate?) ... UK Guidance on Regulation - who is the target audience for this Guidance? ... legislation as the framework for regulatory decisions –regulatory substance and regulatory governance.
April 2010 (edition 4): Calling all “instrument makers” ... Parliamentary Bills – some statistics on who drafts what, and why ... evaluating draft legislation – the Quebec system ... fee regulation, market failure and “moral hazards”
November 2009 (edition 3): Consultation at all phases of the legislation cycle – a whole of Government approach to consultation ... Legislation implements policy – say so! (three reasons why articulation of policy objectives is desirable) ... the distinction between laws and their administration – the VCEC Inquiry into Streamlining Local Government Regulation.
June 2009 (edition 2): What is legislation? The Australian Legislative Instruments Act concept of an instrument of a legislative character ... Rethinking Legislation — a continuation of earlier thinking, and the Government's “final response” to the report.
October 2008 (edition 1): Indonesian law making challenges - the impact, and the potential, of the Law on Making Laws 2004 in the era of decentralisation ... cancellation by the Central Government - speech by the President to the DPD, statistics on cancellation of local laws.