Climate Change and Administrative Law

Administrative law provides an important avenue for protecting the rights and interests of citizens affected by the decisions and actions of government agencies. Governments regularly make a range of climate-related decisions, such as deciding whether to approve new coalmines. Concomitantly, there is a high volume of climate-related administrative law challenges in Australia and internationally. Although these legal challenges have met with mixed success, their broader significance includes generating pressure for evolution in regulatory and policy frameworks.

This chapter considers the extent to which climate change is disrupting administrative law. It considers climate-related challenges under the three main categories of judicial review: illegality, irrationality and procedural impropriety. It also considers merits review cases involving climate change.

The chapter invites you to reflect on why climate litigation has not, to date, significantly disrupted well-established Australian administrative law doctrines, particularly through the judicial review avenue. It also encourages reflection on the important role administrative law plays as a pathway for catalysing regulatory change in Australia and beyond.