Our public sector clients get the best of both worlds
In a market characterised by ever-changing political conditions, our lawyers give you the strategic edge you need to succeed. We offer tailored legal advice to government departments and statutory authorities, thanks to our understanding of legislative and policy frameworks and our commercial approach to projects and issues.
Not every law firm understands government and how it works. With our strong presence in Canberra and deep relationships across Australian state and territory governments, we know the public sector through and through.
As a client, we are the go-to firm for:
- technology and data
- corporate advisory work
- disputes and commissions of inquiry
- law reform
- infrastructure projects
- Emerging issues - open data, innovation, blockchain, smart contracts and financial market reform.
Foreign companies, state-owned entities and sovereign wealth funds looking to invest in Australia call on our specialist legal capabilities in foreign investment policy and our track record of successfully navigating cross-border investments.
We balance public interest and accountability, while providing pragmatic solutions.
Public and private expertise
As a government sector client, you benefit from same the full spectrum of legal services we offer to corporate clients, as well as services that meet the specific needs of government organisations. And unlike our competitors, our lawyers work with both private and public sector firms.
Our clients include bodies and departments at all levels of government (national, state and local), as well as government-owned companies, agencies and statutory bodies
Other work highlights in the government sector include advising:
- Bushfires Royal Commission: Acting as adviser to the Commission. This is perhaps one of the most significant appointments in the Government sector with the wide ranging impact on the Commonwealth and the States when the findings are released.
- Department of Defence: Defending class action proceedings brought by the residents and business-owners of Oakey and Tindall. We are the trusted adviser to Defence on the largest litigation on PFAS in the market.
- GovPass: Advising the DTA on the implementation and operation of a national federated digital identity system, which will enable end users to access online services provided by government and business through use of a ‘digital identity’.
- Department of Defence: Various complex materiel and sustainment procurements for the Department of Defence including the F–35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSF), the Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) ships and Air Warfare Destroyers (AWD) and the Australian-Singapore Military Training Initiative (ASMTI).
- Services Australia: WPIT – one of the largest and most significant ICT projects for the Commonwealth transforming the Cth Government’s payments system.
- Snowy Hydro: advising Finance on the purchase by the Commonwealth of the shareholdings of the States of NSW and Victoria in Snowy Hydro Limited and on corporate governance.
- Inland Rail: Advising ARTC on the Gowrie to Kagaru PPP, which is a complex blend of brownfield rail duplication and greenfield corridor through both physically and environmentally challenging terrain and high value agricultural lands.
- Parramatta Light Rail: Advising TfNSW on strategic and project structuring, construction, property, planning and environment, rail safety, WHS, tax and insurance & risk advice for a major $3.5 billion light rail project.
- National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS): Advising the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet on the NDIS implementation. The project is characterised by significant stakeholder concerns including ensuring continuity of care and service quality for vulnerable Victorians as well as sensitive and effective management of Industrial Relations concerns of over 6,000 government staff.
- Sustainability Victoria: Engaged as the sole strategic adviser to Sustainability Victoria across a broad spectrum of areas critical to the function of the entity including environmental and planning, work health and safety, trademarks, environmental finance, privacy and FOI issues.
- Sydney Football Stadium redevelopment: Engaged by INSW to provide all planning, structuring and delivery advice, and to prepare and negotiate all the transaction documents. Our litigation team are currently representing INSW in expedited legal proceedings challenging the validity of the planning approval for the stadium.
- Western Sydney Stadium Development: Engaged by INSW included development of a tender plan, project structuring, planning, approvals, land acquisition, procurement strategy, negotiation of bespoke D&C contract, contamination regime, structural defects liability, bid process and tender evaluation and financial close.
- CleanCo Queensland: Advising on the implementation and transition of foundation assets for the establishment of CleanCo - a publicly owned clean energy generator that forms part of the Powering Queensland plan.
- QCN Fibre: Advising on the establishment and implementation of QCN Fibre - a jointly-owned subsidiary of Powerlink Queensland and Energy Queensland (designed to utilise 6000km of state-owned fibre to boost connectivity, reduce costs and raise competition in the NBN market).
