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Key developments

  • Use of automated decision-making by government
  • Statutory review of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia Act 2021
  • Consultation on Model Participation Rules and Model Operating Requirements security-related matters
  • Review of the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Act 2021
  • Secure Jobs, Better Pay review
  • Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Setting Gender Equality Targets) Bill 2024
  • Legal Profession Regulation – eligible Water Markets Intermediaries

Use of automated decision-making by government

The Public Law, Privacy and Data, and Government Solicitors Committees contributed to a letter to the Law Council to inform its submission to a consultation by the Attorney-General’s Department on the use of automated decision-making by government.

Our submission highlighted recent work by the NSW Ombudsman which ‘maps’ the increasing use of automated decision-making (‘ADM’) systems by the NSW public sector, and provides useful data regarding transparency and risk where ADM is employed to assist or even replace human decision-making.

We noted the need for ADM systems to be designed and reviewed in line with the principles of administrative law and good government decision-making, emphasising:

  • balancing transparency with the protection of commercial-in-confidence information, including the need for contractual arrangements to allow for administrative and/or judicial review;
  • proactive notification of the use of ADM to persons affected by decisions, and support for vulnerable populations to understand the process and their rights;
  • the need to allow for timely review of ADM decisions by human decision-makers; and
  • systemic oversight of ADM systems and their impacts.

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