Public Law & Commercial (Dispute Resolution)

The Public Law & Commercial (Dispute Resolution) practice group assists NSW Government agencies in relation to disputes in jurisdictions ranging from the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal to the High Court of Australia.

The group acts for agencies in:

• judicial review proceedings
• major commercial litigation
• review of revenue decisions
• licensing matters (including liquor and gaming, and childcare)
•  proceedings relating to government information and privacy.

We also advise and assist agencies in matters arising under privacy legislation and broader issues of information management, including the new Mandatory Notification of Data Breach Scheme and privacy impact assessments.

Key areas of expertise: administrative law litigation (judicial and merits review); revenue appeals; information law; commercial dispute resolution.

Significant matters

• Acting for the Chief Commissioner of State Revenue in the Court of Appeal in Conexa Sydney Holdings Pty Ltd v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2025] NSWCA 20. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appellant’s appeal, finding that the appellant’s interest in a pipeline was an interest in land for the purposes of the landholder duty provisions in ch 4 of the Duties Act 1997. 
• Acting for the Chief Commissioner of State Revenue in the Court of Appeal in Chief Commissioner of State Revenue v Uber Australia Pty Ltd [2025] NSWCA 172. The Court of Appeal allowed the Chief Commissioner’s appeal, finding that payments made by Uber to drivers were taxable for payroll tax purposes on the basis those payments were ‘for or in relation to the performance of work’ within s 35 of the Payroll Tax Act 2007.
• Acting for the Chief Commissioner of State Revenue in the High Court in Godolphin Pty Limited v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2024] HCA 20 relating to the primary production exemption under the Land Tax Management Act 1956.
• Acting for the Chief Commissioner in Chief Commissioner of State Revenue v Integrated Trolley Management Pty Limited [2023] NSWCA 302, considering arrangements constituted an employment agency contract for the purposes of the Payroll Tax Act 2007.
• Acting for the Commissioner of Police in Commissioner of Police v Ritson [2023] NSWCA 300, in which the Court of Appeal considered the interaction between the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 and the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009.