Catherine Williams

Upwards of $55 billion has been spent on Commonwealth grants programs since mid-2018, when the current Prime Minister came to power. In that period, there has been a series of findings of maladministration – and worse – by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in respect of Commonwealth grants programs, giving rise to an urgent need for reform in this area.

Kieran Pender

In the preface to a collection of criminal cases published in 1730, barrister and writer Sollom Emlyn sung the praises of the British legal system. ‘In other countries the Courts of Justice are held in secret; with us publicly and in open view,’ the Irishman …

Anita Stuhmche

This series celebrates and analyses the ‘new administrative law’ as it has developed in Australia since the Kerr Committee’s report 50 years ago. The focus of this blog is the Commonwealth Ombudsman. My argument is that the institution is no longer fit for purpose. …

Yee-Fui Ng

Yet another rorts scandal is swirling around the federal government, dubbed the ‘car park rorts’ affair. The Auditor-General has reported that a $389 million car park construction fund has been administered ineffectively and that the Minister had distributed the grants with ‘inadequate assessment’ for eligibility (at [25]). The Auditor-General’s …