Government contracts : federal, state and local / Nicholas Seddon.

Alexandria, N.S.W. : The Federation Press, 2023.

7th edition

200637

Public contracts -- Australia.

Contracts -- Australia.

Part 1. The uses of contract by governments

Introduction

The application of contract law to government contracts

The government’s choice of contract

The erosion of remedies and accountability

Free trade agreements and government procurement

Part 2. The government’s power to contract

The Commonwealth

The states and territories

Statutory corporations and local government

The Consequences of lack of power

Part 3. Contract formation

Intention to create legal relations

Statutory agreements

Authority to contract on behalf of government

Authority to contract and statutory corporations

Failure to appropriate funds

Part 4. Government privileges and immunities

Government bodies as legal entities

The different meanings of “the crown”

Statutory bodies and the shield of the crown

Private bodies and the shield of the crown

Government privileges and immunities

Part 5. Executive necessity, the rule against fettering and legislative overriding of contract

Contract and future government action

The doctrine of executive necessity

The primacy of legislation

The rule against fettering future executive action

The rule against fettering future legislative action

Legislative overriding of an existing contract

The effect on the contract

Government effectiveness and estoppel

Part 6. Government and competition and consumer legislation

The competition and consumer scheme

The legislation and government

Carrying on a business

The consequences of exemption

Proportionate liability

Part 7. Tenders

Introduction

Contractual analysis of tenders

The pre-award period

Estoppel

Misleading or negligent conduct

Confidentiality

Restitution

Administrative law challenges

Access to information

Part 8. Administrative law remedies

Introduction

The availability of administrative law remedies

The grounds for review

The ombudsman

Access to information.

This seventh edition of Government Contracts: Federal, State and Local marks 28 years of its life which has seen a very substantial transformation of government. The new contractualism through the use of contract to deliver government needs has been controversial in some areas but it is essentially here to stay. This phenomenon is examined from a lawyer’s perspective. Does the private law institution of contract work satisfactorily in its use for public purposes? The answer is very mixed. Attention is inevitably paid to areas of risk. As noted in the Preface, there have been some spectacularly bad outcomes. This may prompt recommending against outsourcing some functions of government, in particular human services. As in past editions, this new edition thoroughly analyses the complex and developing mix of private and public law that informs government contracting. Some spectacular areas subside, such as the huge disturbance of the Willliams cases; and some are confronting, such as the Western Australian legislation shutting down an arbitration initiated by Clive Palmer and his companies against the Western Australian government. The legislation was upheld by the High Court. - Publisher's website.

Previous edition 2018.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

9781760024444

xl, 563 pages ; 25 cm