This book provides a clear and concise account of the main principles of administrative law. More than that, it sets those principles in historical, comparative and constitutional perspective. Principles of Administrative Law guides the reader through the complexities of the current law and provides an account of how it developed and where it might go in the years to come. This book tells not only what administrative law is but also what it is about. It explains as well as informs.

Unlike a traditional textbook, Principles of Administrative Law does not set out to state the law in comprehensive detail. Instead, it offers an uncluttered statement of the essentials of the subject. Unlike an ‘outline’ or ‘introduction, however, it uses this statement of the basics as the foundation for an exploration of the law’s origins and conceptual foundations and of its institutional and constitutional context. In addition, it covers various important topics not found in other administrative law books for students. It is a significant addition to the literature on Australian administrative law, and it will meet a real need for a short book that is both broad and deep in its treatment of this increasingly topical area of law.

1. Getting Started
2. Historical and Constitutional Contexts
3. Scope of Judicial Review
4. Judicial Review Remedies
5. Grounds of Judicial Review
6. Access to Judicial Review
7. Restricting Judicial Review
8. Tribunals and Merits Review
9. Beyond Courts and Tribunals
10. Private Law in a Public Context: Tort and Contract
11. Values and Effects of Administrative Law

Peter Cane – Professor and Director, John Fleming Centre for Advancement of Legal Research in the College of Law at The Australian National University

Leighton McDonald – Senior Lecturer in the College of Law at The Australian National University

"It’s a must read. Its style is lucid and brief. year students. In one sense. it is a beguilingly easy read. Its content is a comprehensive overview of a large field, written very cleverly at the level of a thumb-nail sketch, but with profound observations."

Mark Aronson - Emeritus Professor - The University of New South Wales