Administrative law
Get on top of judicial review.
Administrative law is about challenging government decisions. In a problem question it follows a clear sequence: identify the decision, who may challenge it, on what ground, in which court, and what remedy. Working to that sequence is what keeps judicial review manageable.
The subject, module by module
Eleven modules, end to end
Each module has a guide: the idea, an attack plan, the cases at a glance, the rules and the common traps. The practice bank holds 120 problems, each with a Pass answer, an H1 answer and examiner's comments.
Merits review, freedom of information and the Ombudsman. This module also carries the interim assessment.Guide · Memoranda (5)
Order 56, section 39B and the ADJR gateway, and the avenue the question locks you into.Guide · Drills (10, with 3)
Certiorari, prohibition, mandamus, declaration and injunction, selected and justified rather than listed.Guide · Drills (10, with 2)
Jurisdictional error, invalidity, and the two stage materiality analysis run on the strongest ground.Guide · Drills (10)
The hearing rule and the bias rule, argued from the statute before the common law fills any gap.Guide · Hearing rule (10) · Bias (10)
Jurisdictional fact, acting without authority, and delegation and agency.Guide · Jurisdictional fact (10) · Delegation (10)
Relevant and irrelevant considerations, improper purpose, inflexible policy and unreasonableness.Guide · Considerations (12) · Unreasonableness (8)
Kirk, Plaintiff S157 and the limits of an ouster clause.Guide · Drills (12, with 10)
Validity, repugnancy to the Act, and the declaration of invalidity that most answers miss.Guide · Drills (12, with 9)
The section 38 pathway and the Victorian Charter in judicial review. Assessed in the essay.Guide
Fifteen integrated Part A scenarios in the format of the real paper, 40 marks each, with model answers and examiner's comments.Exam tier
The challenge
Where students get stuck
The grounds of review overlap, and the jurisdictional rules are detailed. A common difficulty is distinguishing jurisdictional from other error, which affects much of the analysis. Procedural fairness, through the hearing rule and the bias rule, must be applied precisely. The remaining grounds, including relevant and irrelevant considerations, improper purpose, unreasonableness and error of law, each have their own requirements. All of this sits within the correct pathway under the ADJR Act, section 75(v) of the Constitution and section 39B of the Judiciary Act, with the appropriate standing and remedy. Privative clauses and Plaintiff S157 are areas students often find uncertain.
How the guides handle it
The guides run one sequence and keep to it: the decision and the jurisdiction first, then standing, then each ground on its own with rule, authority, application and conclusion, then the remedies. The drills concentrate where the marks are: jurisdictional error, procedural fairness and privative clauses.
The method
One method, every problem
Four steps run every argument: name the issue, state the rule, apply it to the facts, conclude. Almost every legal rule shares a skeletal structure: it takes one of six shapes, and any of those shapes may carry a twist. Learn the six shapes and one twist →
Common questions
Administrative Law: common questions
Does this cover the grounds and the remedies?
Yes. Standing, the jurisdictional pathways, every ground of review and all the remedies.
I cannot tell jurisdictional error from other error. Where do I start?
It is the heart of the subject. Module 5 works it with the authorities and worked examples, and the drills test it until it clicks.
Related subjects: Constitutional Law, Principles of Public Law, Criminal Law & Procedure. See all subjects.
Get on top of Administrative Law.
Work through the eleven module guides, then test yourself on 120 problems with model answers and examiner's comments.