Administrative Lawyers in Australia

Understand this area of law

Administrative law concerns decisions made under government powers and the processes for questioning or reviewing them. An enquiry should identify the decision-maker, the decision or notice received, the date and any review information supplied. Different agencies and schemes have different pathways, powers and time requirements.

Define the work before comparing firms

Ask whether the law firm handles the specific government area and the relevant review body or court. Merits review, internal review, judicial review, complaints and information-access processes are not interchangeable. The firm should explain which question it is being asked to assess and whether representation is available at the present stage.

Prepare a safer, more useful first enquiry

Keep the decision, reasons, application material and correspondence together and note how and when the decision was received. Tell the office every stated review date promptly. Ask what documents are required for an initial assessment, what the first deliverable will be and whether free or specialist assistance is available for that decision type.

Work that may sit within this category

Use these examples to describe the enquiry, not to diagnose the legal issue or assume that every law firm performs the work.

• Internal review of a government decision
• Merits review in a tribunal
• Judicial review or a jurisdictional question
• Complaints, reasons and access-to-information processes

Information to organise before making contact

• The complete decision and any statement of reasons
• The application material and correspondence with the agency
• The date received and the review pathways stated in the notice

Review rights and periods depend on the decision and statutory scheme. Ask the firm to assess the actual notice before relying on a general description.