This chapter complements Chapter 2 of Government Accountability: Australian Administrative Law, third edition. It contains a cross-section of material relating to the entities that make up the executive, including relevant constitutional provisions, values and terminology. The complex contemporary question of outsourcing and privatisation is explored in depth through two High Court cases and a 1998 Administrative Review Council report that foreshadows issues that continue to present challenges for administrative law principles and mechanisms.

This chapter complements Chapter 2 of Government Accountability: Australian Administrative Law, third edition. It contains a cross-section of material relating to the entities that make up the executive, including relevant constitutional provisions, values and terminology. The complex contemporary question of outsourcing and privatisation is explored in depth through two High Court cases and a 1998 Administrative Review Council report that foreshadows issues that continue to present challenges for administrative law principles and mechanisms.

[40.1] There is a common law presumption that general words in a statute do not apply to the Crown in any capacity. The term ‘the Crown’ has a broad meaning for this purpose. It covers executive governments, government agencies and staff as well as the Sovereign and the Sovereign’s direct representatives in Australia.