Government Contracts: Federal, State and Local 6th ed

Government Contracts 6th edition is the new edition of a work that has now been in existence for some twenty-one years. It is Australia’s definitive legal text on all levels of government contracting. It focuses on the legal issues that may arise in connection with government contracts and which have no parallel in the private sector.

It explains the law in a manner that government contract managers, and their private sector counterparts doing business with government, will find indispensable. Presented in plain English, it is equally accessible to lay readers and lawyers. Law students will also benefit from the up-to-date case law, relevant policy developments and legislation relating to government contracting, including procurement and outsourcing. Authoritative and respected, Government Contracts has been referred to in State and Federal court cases, in the High Court and in government policy documents.

New material in this 6th edition includes:

• a focus on outsourcing human services in Chapter 1 and remedial measures in Chapter 8;
• analysis at Commonwealth level of the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013;
• a thorough analysis of the Williams cases and their significance for Commonwealth (and possibly State) executive and spending powers;
• the implications for tender challenges of Australia’s application to join the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, including a Commonwealth Government Procurement (Judicial Review) Bill;
• the anomalies created in New South Wales and Queensland by legislation that removes corporate status from statutory bodies;
• further developments on derivative Crown immunity;
• case law and commentary on the continuing problem of whether legislation from another polity binds government;
• developments concerning sovereign risk;
• the continuing saga of government exemption from the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 and questioning of the position, including in the Harper Review;
• government contracts transparency requirements in the various jurisdictions.

As always with Seddon’s work, a careful re-consideration of every aspect of the book has been undertaken providing clarity and comprehensive sources for the reader. This new edition is current to 30 November 2017 and is an indispensable resource for lawyers, government contract managers and their private sector counterparts.