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Research biography

Greg Weeks is a leading administrative law scholar. His primary research interests are judicial review of administrative action and obtaining remedies against public authorities. His published work has been cited by Australian courts and in the published works of leading Australian and international scholars.

He is the General Editor of the Australian Journal of Administrative Law and an Editor of the Federal Administrative Law service, each published by Thomson Reuters.

Greg's books include Soft Law and Public Authorities: Remedies and Reform (Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2016), the edited collections Administrative Redress In and Out of the Courts: Essays in Honour of Robyn Creyke and John McMillan (Federation Press, 2019) and Legitimate Expectations in the Common Law World, (Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2017) both with Matthew Groves, and the influential texts Judicial Review of Administrative Action and Government Liability, (7th ed, Thomson Reuters, 2022) with Mark Aronson and Matthew Groves and Government Liability: Principles and Remedies (LexisNexis Australia, 2019) with Janina Boughey and Ellen Rock.

Research projects & collaborations

Greg's main research interests are in judicial review and issues in public law generally, state liability, and public and private law remedies against public authorities. He frequently works on projects related to soft law.

Grants

• UNSW Law 2017 Law Workshop Support Scheme (with associated funding from the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law) for ‘Soft Law in Administration Workshop’ (with Professor Simon Halliday) – $14,300

Books & edited collections

• Mark Aronson, Matthew Groves and Greg Weeks, Judicial Review of Administrative Action and Government Liability, (7th ed, Thomson Reuters, 2022).
• Janina Boughey, Ellen Rock and Greg Weeks, Government Liability: Principles and Remedies (LexisNexis Australia, 2019).
• Greg Weeks and Matthew Groves, Administrative Redress In and Out of the Courts: Essays in Honour of Robyn Creyke and John McMillan, (Federation Press, 2019).
• Mark Aronson, Matthew Groves and Greg Weeks, Judicial Review of Administrative Action and Government Liability, (6th ed, Thomson Reuters, 2017).
• Matthew Groves and Greg Weeks (eds), Legitimate Expectations in the Common Law World, (Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2017).
• Greg Weeks, Soft Law and Public Authorities: Remedies and Reform, (Hart Publishing, Oxford, 2016).

Refereed journal articles

• "Getting What You Want From Administrative Law" (2023) 108 AIAL Forum 88 – 108 (with Ellen Rock);
• "Tribunal Justice and Politics in Australia: The Rise and Fall of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal" (2023) 97 Australian Law Journal 278 – 292 (with Matthew Groves).
• "Government Schemes for Extra-Judicial Compensation: an Assessment" (2020) 100 AIAL Forum 79 (with Sarah Lim and Nathalie Ng).
• "Remedies for Government Liability: Beyond Administrative Law" (2019) 97 AIAL Forum 57 - 73 (with Janina Boughey and Ellen Rock).
• “Monetary Awards for Public Law Wrongs: Australia's Resistant Legal Landscape” (2018) 41 University of New South Wales Law Journal 1160 – 1187 (with Ellen Rock).
• "Soft Law and Public Liability: Beyond the Separation of Powers?" (2018) 39 Adelaide Law Review 303 - 330.
• “ADJR at 40: In its Prime or a Disappointment to its Parents?” (2018) 92 AIAL Forum 103 – 110.
• “Planning and Soft Law” (2017) 24 AJ Admin L 252 - 270 (with Linda Pearson).

Book chapters

• "Maladministration: the Particular Jurisdiction of the Ombudsman" in M Groves and A Stuhmcke (eds), The Ombudsman in the Modern State (Hart Publishing, 2022) 21 -39.
• "The Creation of Australian Administrative Law: the Constitution and its Judicial Gate-Keepers" in Swati Jhaveri and Michael Ramsden (eds), Judicial Review of Administrative Action: Origins and Adaptations Across the Common Law World (Cambridge University Press, 2021) 309 - 326 (with Matthew Groves).
• "A Statutory Shield for the Executive: To What Extent Does Legislation Help Administrative Action Evade Judicial Scrutiny?" in Janina Boughey and Lisa Burton Crawford (eds), Interpreting Executive Power (Federation Press, 2020) 184 - 202 (with Dominique Dalla-Pozza).
• "A Search for Rights: Judicial and Administrative Responses to Migration and Refugee Cases" in M Groves, J Boughey and D Meagher (eds), The Legal Protection of Human Rights in Australia (Hart Publishing, 2019) 335 - 354 (with Emma Dunlop and Jane McAdam).
• “Attacks on Integrity Offices: a Separation of Powers Riddle” in G Weeks and M Groves (eds), Administrative Redress In and Out of the Courts: Essays in Honour of Robyn Creyke and John McMillan (Federation Press, 2019) 25 – 43.
• "The Iceberg of Australian Administrative Law: Justice Before and Beyond Judicial Review" in Greg Weeks and Matthew Groves (eds), Administrative Redress In and Out of the Courts: Essays in Honour of Robyn Creyke and John McMillan (Federation Press, 2019) 1 - 11 (with Matthew Groves).
• “Government Accountability as a ‘Constitutional Value’” in Rosalind Dixon (ed), Australian Constitutional Values (CUP, 2017), 99 - 120 (with Janina Boughey).

Conference papers & presentations

• "The Demise of the AAT: What Happened, What Should Happen and What Can Be Learned?", presented to the Ontario – Australia Adjudicative Tribunals Summit, 17 May 2023.
• "Soft Law: Separation of Powers and Public Liability", presented at an Advanced Administrative Law Seminar, UNSW Law, 1 October 2019.
• “The Statutory Shield of the Executive: To What Extent Should Administrative Action Evade Judicial Scrutiny?”, presented at the Interpreting Executive Power Workshop, UNSW Law, Sydney, 14 December 2018 (with Dominique Dalla-Pozza).
• “Attacks on Integrity Offices: a Separation of Powers Riddle”, presented at the Public Law Weekend, Australian National University, Canberra, 2 November 2018.
• “The Australian Constitution Rises as Ultra Vires Declines”, presented at the Indigenising Administrative Law Symposium, National University of Singapore, 7 – 8 December 2017 (with Matthew Groves).
• “Soft Law and the Liability of Public Authorities”, presented at the New South Wales Supreme Court Annual Conference, Blue Mountains, 25 – 26 August 2017.
• “ADJR at 40: in its prime or a disappointment to its parents?”, presented at the Minter Ellison / CIPL Seminar on the 40th Anniversary of the ADJR Act, Canberra, 27 April 2017.
• “Soft Law: Effective Regulation, Perilous for the Regulated”, presented at Administrative Law in 2016: Shifting Sands or Stagnant Swamp? – AGS Administrative Law Forum, Canberra, 11 November 2016.
• “Governing Without Parliament: the Impact of Soft Law”, presented at New Theories of the State’s Authority: Beyond the Separation of Powers, National University of Singapore, 31 October - 2 November 2016.
• “Self-regulation and Soft Law”, presented at the Regulation, Litigation and Enforcement: Adjuncts & Alternatives to Traditional Enforcement Seminar, UNSW Law, 23 September 2016.
• “Government Accountability as a ‘Constitutional Value’”, presented at the Australian Constitutional Values Workshop, UNSW Law, 10 June 2016 (with Janina Boughey).
• “Soft Law in the Jurisdiction of the Land and Environment Court”, presented at a Twilight Seminar for the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales, 13 April 2016.
• "Justice Mason and the Essence of a Fiduciary Relationship: Hospital Products Limited v United States Surgical Corporation", presented at the Great Australian Dissents Workshop, UNSW Sydney, 9 June 2015 (with Simone Degeling).
• "The Legitimacy of Expectations About Fairness: Can Process and Substance be Untangled?", presented at the Public Law Conference: Process and Substance in Public Law, University of Cambridge, Faculty of Law, 15 - 17 September 2014 (with Matthew Groves).
• "The Use of Soft Law by Australian Public Authorities: Issues and Remedies", presented at the Practice and Theory of Soft Law Academic Symposium, Peking University Soft Law Centre, 9 July 2011.
• "A Marriage of Strangers: the Wednesbury standard in tort law", presented at the Gilbert + Tobin Centre of Public Law Postgraduate Research Conference, UNSW, 12 July 2010.

Government submissions

• Submission in response to the Administrative Review Reform: Issues Paper (2023)
• Submission to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee on the Performance and Integrity of Australia’s Administrative Review System (2021)
• Joint Select Committee on Australia's Immigration Detention Network (with Jane McAdam, Fiona Chong and Alice Noda, 11 August 2011).
• Administrative Review Council, Judicial Review in Australia: Consultation Paper (1 July 2011).
• Department of Attorney-General and Justice (NSW), Reform of Judicial Review in NSW (11 April 2011).

Case notes & book reviews

Case Notes

• "The High Court on Repudiation of Contract" (2008) 119 Australian Construction Law Newsletter 48 - 49.
• "Case note: Civic Capital Ltd v Australian Securities and Investments Commission" (2008) 15 AJ Admin L 126 - 127.

Book Reviews

• "Leading Cases in Australian Law: A Guide to the 200 Most Frequently Cited Judgments by Daniel Reynolds and Lyndon Goddard" (2016) 24 AJ Admin L 65.
• “Statutory Interpretation in Australia (8th ed) by DC Pearce and RS Geddes” (2015) 22 AJ Admin L 132 – 133.
• “Justice in Tribunals (4th ed) by JRS Forbes” (2015) 22 AJ Admin L 201 – 202.
• “Administrative Justice and its Availability by Justice Debra Mortimer (ed)” (2015) 23 AJ Admin L 56 – 57.
• “Judicial Remedies in Public Law (5th ed) by The Hon Mr Justice Clive Lewis QC” (2015) 23 AJ Admin L 59 – 60.
• "Murray Gleeson: The Smiler by Michael Pelly' (2014) 21 AJ Admin L 230 - 232.
• “Judicial Review: The Laws of Australia by Mark Robinson (ed)” (2014) 22 AJ Admin L 63.
• “Australian Public Law (2nd ed) by Gabrielle Appleby, Alexander Reilly and Laura Grenfell” (2014) 22 AJ Admin L 65 – 66.
• “Public Law: Text, Cases, and Materials (2nd ed) by Andrew Le Sueur, Maurice Sunkin and Jo Eric Khushal Murkens” (2014) 22 AJ Admin L 64 – 65.
• "Towards a Public Law of Tort by Tom Cornford" (2009) 17 Torts Law Journal 311 - 318.

Other

Editorials

• "Institutions and their Memories" (2023) 30 AJ Admin L 83.
• "30th Anniversary of the Australian Journal of Administrative Law" (2023) 30 AJ Admin L 5.
• "Fiduciaries in Public Law" (2022) 29 AJ Admin L 223.
• "The State of the AAT" (2022) 29 AJ Admin L 149.
• "Special Issue in Honour of Justice John Basten" (2022) 29 AJ Admin L 88.
• "Vale The Hon Sir Francis Gerard Brennan AC KBE GBS QC" (2022) 29 AJ Admin L 90.
• "Three Giants of Australian Administrative Law Honoured" (2022) 29 AJ Admin L 3.
• "Migration Law’s Continuing Impact on Australian Administrative Law" (2021) 28 AJ Admin L 131.
• "The State of Our Administrative Law" (2021) 28 AJ Admin L 3.
• "Ministerial Adherence to the Law" (2020) 27 AJ Admin L 187.
• "Soft Law and Liability in Tort" (2020) 27 AJ Admin L 131.
• "Immigration Litigation - Impact, Study and Reform" (2020) 27 AJ Admin L 63.
• "The Ongoing Quest to Define a Duty of Consistency" (2020) 27 AJ Admin L 3.
• "Tribunals – Their Continued Evolution and Reform" (2020) 26 AJ Admin L 189.
• "Vale The Late Richard Tracey QC" (2019) 26 AJ Admin L 125.
• "Climate Change as a Relevant Consideration" (2019) 26 AJ Admin L 49.
• "Party Politics and Supervisory Review" (2019) 26 AJ Admin L 125.
• “Review of Academic Results: Can and Should Students Take Legal Action?” (2019) 26(1) AJ Admin L 3.
• “Fairness, Chance and Discretion in Judicial Review” (2018) 25(3) AJ Admin L 147.
• “Natural Justice Beyond Individual Affectation” (2018) 25(2) AJ Admin L 81.
• “Legislative Limitations on Judicial Review: the High Court in Graham” (2018) 24(4) AJ Admin L 209.
• “The Enduring Mystery of Minister for Immigration and Citizenship v Li” (2017) 24(3) AJ Admin L 145.
• “The Decline of the Legitimate Expectation” (2017) 24(2) AJ Admin L 71
• “Farewell to Damien Cremean; Submissions; Current Issues” (2017) 24(1) AJ Admin L 3.
• “Protection of Refugees Who Do Not ‘Live Discreetly’” (2015) 346 Australian Administrative Law Bulletin 5.
• “The Closure of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner” (2014) 342 Australian Administrative Law Bulletin 5.

PhD supervision

I am willing to supervise in the areas of:

• judicial review;
• issues in public law generally;
• state liability;
• public and private law remedies against public authorities; and
• related fields.

Completed supervisions

• Kate Falconer: "Bones of Contention: The Right to Possession of the Body of the Deceased as a Property Right" (ANU - supervision panel).
• Jason Donnelly: "Re-shaping the separation of powers in Australia – the non-justiciable nature of national interest" (UNSW).

SJD supervision

I am willing to supervise in the areas of my research interests.

MPhil supervision

I am willing to supervise in the areas of my research interests.

LLM Masters thesis supervision

I am willing to supervise in the areas of my research interests.

Honours thesis supervision

I am willing to supervise in the areas of my research interests.

Current courses

Previous courses

Philosophy & approach

My teaching philosophy is simple to articulate but rather more complex to realise. I aim to make my students excellent legal practitioners with a deep understanding of, if not passion for, the law. Administrative law (and other subjects, like torts) do not generally arouse excitement in new students but my (unfeigned) enthusiasm for them and capacity (through expertise) to explain their intricacies in an accessible way has resulted in the vast majority of students giving extremely positive assessments of my teaching.

Past courses

• Administrative Law (LAWS2201/6201)
• Advanced Administrative Law (LAWS4262/8462)
• Torts (LAWS1203/6103)
• Contracts (LAWS1204)
• Executive Power (LAWS8241)