Government

We undertake work for a variety of NSW government agencies including:

• Transport for NSW
• Roads and Maritime Services 
• RailCorp
• NSW Trains
• Sydney Trains
• Office of Environment & Heritage
• Department of Planning & Environment
• Department of Finance, Services and Innovation
• Department of Industry
• NSW Department of Education & Communities
• NSW Health
• NSW Land & Housing Corporation
• NSW Police Force
• Barangaroo Development Authority
• Port Authority of NSW
• Placement Management NSW
• State Transit Authority
• Sydney Opera House Trust
• Office of Environment & Heritage
• Landcom/Urban Growth NSW
• Property NSW
• TAFE NSW
• NSW Procurement.

• SWOT analysis of various leases and licences
• Inter-relationship of overlapping easements and practical operation of rights and obligations
• Pro-forma licences and leases
• Infrastructure easements
• Traffic management strategies
• Land sales and swaps
• Acquisitions
• Partnering arrangements between agencies.

• A dispute regarding the ability to vary waterfront licences
• A dispute regarding obligations to repair under a waterfront lease
• A dispute in relation to the results of a property search which allegedly did not disclose the proximity of a property to a proposed infrastructure project
• Interpretation of covenants to pay rent, repair and maintain and make good under waterfront leases and licences and the ability to vary the same
• Direct negotiations with tenants, termination arrangements at the end of a long term lease and the strategic issues relating to the re-marketing of property
• Various matters arising out of the insolvency of a tenant including the step in rights and obligations of the financier.

• Contested subpoenas and subpoenas in sensitive matters
• A dispute regarding the fraudulent issue of certification cards and other documents by a private sector organisation whose approval had been cancelled by the agency
• A dispute regarding the unauthorised use of agency names and trade marks by a private fundraiser purporting to have been engaged by a charitable organisation to generate funds on their behalf
• Advice regarding the prospects of recovery of funding provided to a senior employee of a NSW government department
• A claim against the agency’s former lawyers for professional negligence in connection with a GST clause in an asset disposal contract
• A dispute with and between private sector operators in contemplation of the implementation of a new policy for the use of agency owned facilities used by those operators
• Advising on potential liability to a former tenant under a letter of comfort arising from a potential change of use of an asset
• A dispute regarding allocation of project risk and rectification of defects in an urban renewal project constructed by a developer with the benefit of a 99 year lease.

• A number of hospital developments, including carrying out development under the Infrastructure SEPP, complying with obligations under Part 5 of the Environmental Planning & Assessment Act 1979 and land acquisition issues
• Re-zoning of land and voluntary planning agreements for development in the Lower Hunter Region of NSW and in Western Sydney
• The securing of biodiversity offsets and securing land for inclusion in the national park estate.
• Establishing the nature and extent of existing use rights in relation to government-owned structures, including the extent to which these rights can be relied on to redevelop the subject site
• Advising in relation to strategies to secure the protection of a geological feature, including advising on the interaction between mining laws and environmental protection legislation
• A dispute in relation to a make good obligation in the context of s133A of the Conveyancing Act 1919
• A dispute and associated claims for recovery of compliance costs under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997
• A dispute in relation to a make good obligation in the context of s133A of the Conveyancing Act
• A bailment dispute and associated claim for recovery of compliance costs under the Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997.

• An independent review of a series of transactions relating to crown land, involving a 360 degree review of various decisions to convert a perpetual lease to a commercial lease and to change the declared purpose of the land
• Acting for Government witnesses in public hearings before the ICAC.

• The operation of the Disability Discrimination Act (Cth) and the assistance animal scheme in NSW
• A coronial in relation to a single vehicle motor accident
• Advising a NSW agency on its work health & safety obligations.

• Assisting in the preparation for Privacy Impact Assessments for projects involving the collection of personal and sensitive information from customers where that information is shared with subcontractors and third parties for verification and other purposes, and making recommendations for privacy notices and relevant practices and retention policies.
• Workplace health & safety

In New South Wales we have been appointed to the NSW government legal services panel (in its various forms) since 2012

Since then we have carried out work for TfNSW, RMS, RailCorp, Sydney Trains, NSW Trains, the Office of Environment and Heritage, the Department of Planning and Environment, the Department of Industry, Regional Infrastructure and Services, the Department of Education and Communities, NSW Health, Property NSW, Sydney Opera House Trust, the Department of Finance, Services and Innovation, the NSW Land and Housing Corporation, NSW Police Force and the Port Authority of NSW. We have also been appointed to the legal services panel for the Barangaroo Delivery Authority. 

Our program

As well as the annual Government lawyers conference soon to be in its fourth year, we run ad-hoc seminars specifically tailored for Government lawyers and we produce a fortnightly Government Bulletin, containing news and analysis relevant to NSW Government lawyers.

If you wish to stay in touch, please send an email to samantha.birdsall@holdingredlich.com

You can expect to receive: 

• fortnightly editions of NSW Government Bulletin
• an invitation to our annual Government lawyers conference
• invitations to seminars specifically tailored for Government lawyers (around two to three per year)
• (for General Counsel and senior government lawyers) invitations to our Thought Leadership Series events (two per year) where we host guest speakers, such as (in 2014) Ian Temby QC, the NSW Privacy Commissioner Dr Elizabeth Coombs, the Cth Disability and Age Discrimination Commissioner Susan Ryan, (in 2015) Jim Betts, CEO of Infrastructure NSW and Professor Michael Regan of ARRB Group (formerly the Australian Road Research Board). Our guest for our first event for 2016 was NSW State Coroner, His Honour Michael Barnes. 

LinkedIn

We host a LinkedIn group for NSW Government lawyers, through which we distribute Government Bulletin, seminar invitations and the invitation to our annual Government lawyers conference. Click here to join the group. 

Seminars at your agency

Our lawyers are regularly asked to present seminars within agencies and our national knowledge manager regularly presents to NSW Government lawyers on free access online legal research tools and is available to conduct bespoke training on demand.

Sponsorship

Holding Redlich is the major sponsor of the NSW Law Society’s Government Solicitors Conference.

Our award-winning and nationally recognised team has in-depth, hands-on experience, especially in relation to civil and commercial construction, and resources-related infrastructure. 

Our services include:

• tendering advice
• contract/risk review
• documenting and negotiating construction and operation contracts
• structuring advice
• advice on financing and funding
• dispute avoidance
• claims preparation and review
• security of payment advice and claims
• contract administration, risk management and strategic project planning
• alternative dispute resolution, litigation and arbitration.

We provide services from business case inception to project completion including:

• business cases
• value for money framework advice and processes
• procurement and tendering
• structuring advice including complex project delivery models such as PPP, DBFO and BOOT
• tender evaluation and reporting
• contract/risk review
• advice on financing and funding
• contract implementation and administration
• greenfield and brownfield project developments and expansions.

Our aim is to value add up front to add simplicity and clarity to all that we draft and act on in accordance with our government client’s instructions so as to avoid later disputation. Where disputes arise, we are very cognisant of the model litigant and broader context in which governments work.

We have a particular focus on health, education, road, rail and port projects where we have significant experience advising government and stakeholders.

Our services include:

• bespoke and standard form contracting and procurement
• joint ventures and advice on relevant corporate law issues
• advising on counterparty corporate group structuring and restructuring implications for government
• preparing, and advising on commercial contracts, tendering and procurement
• providing advice on corporate governance and directors’ duties to government owned corporations and statutory bodies
• acting in sales and acquisitions of shares, assets and businesses
• advising on relevant corporate law issues, including for example personal property securities law (such as for the motor vehicle industry)
• regulatory advice and implementation by government in a commercial context.

Our corporate and commercial team has a particular focus on the health, road, rail, ports, agribusiness and education sectors.

Our services include:

• prosecutorial duties (including in respect of fairness, disclosure and impartiality)
• evidentiary brief analysis
• statement preparation
• evidentiary rules of admissibility
• advising on reasonable prospects of conviction and public interest matters (application of Prosecution Policies)
• complaint and particulars drafting
• drafting of statement of facts and submissions on sentence
• preparation for trial including briefing of witnesses, preparation of cross – examination and submissions
• commissions and inquiries
• formal and substantive appearances before various Tribunals, Magistrates Court, District Court and Supreme Court.

Our team has a particular focus on prosecutions under the Work Health & Safety Act 2011 (Qld), the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld), Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), Electrical Safety Act 2002 (Qld), Petroleum & Gas (Production and Safety) Act 2004 (Qld), Fire and Rescue Service Act 1990 (Qld) and under the Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Act 1999 (Qld) and Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 (Qld).

Our Queensland Government clients include the Queensland Building and Construction Commission, Seqwater, the Residential Tenancies Authority, WorkCover Queensland and Screen Queensland. 

We have been appointed to the Queensland Government legal services panel

Our Queensland Government clients include Queensland Business Services Authority, Queensland Building and Construction Commission, Residential Tenancies Authority, Workcover Queensland and Screen Queensland.