The Rural Issues Committee monitors legal issues of relevance to rural practitioners and their clients, focusing on the provision of legal education programs of specific benefit to rural practitioners.

Learn more about committees
Current committee members
How to join a committee

Contract for the Sale and Purchase of Water Entitlement 2016

The contract for the Sale and Purchase of Water Entitlement 2016 is now available from the Law Society's Shop. Please note, the 2016 edition is available in hard copy only.

See the Summary of main changes made in the Contract for the sale and purchase of water entitlement - 2016 edition.

A sample copy of the 2016 edition of the Contract for Sale and Purchase of Water Entitlement is available for inspection here.

Publishers and Educational Institutions wanting to include the sample Contract as part of their publications or teaching materials must obtain a Copyright Clearance from the Copyright Officer by sending an email to corpLegal@lawsociety.com.au.

Use of the sample Contract by Publishers and Educational Institutions is subject to the Copyright Guidelines.

Annual Conference: Rural Issues

Each year the Committee is involved in organising the Rural and Private Practice stream for the Law Society’s Annual Conference. Featuring an array of presentations from prominent figures, this one-day conference allows practitioners holding NSW Practising Certificates to claim one CPD unit for each hour of instruction.

Recent policy submissions

Letter to the Office of the Registrar General – Contracts and Covenants – Discussion Paper – 17 March 2025

Letter to Portfolio Committee No 4 – Inquiry into the impact of Renewable Energy Zones on rural and regional communities and industries in NSW – 3 February 2025

Letter to LCA - Policy Proposal Paper – Water Markets Intermediaries Code and Statutory Trust Accounting regulations – 21 August 2024

Letter to Law Council of Australia – Supporting strong and sustainable regions – Review of Regional Migration Settings – 26 July 2024

Letter to Legislative Assembly Committee on Law and Safety - Inquiry into community safety in regional and rural communities - 30 May 2024

Letter to NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure - Discussion paper – Statutory Review of the Crown Land Management Act 2016 – 15 March 2024

Letter to the Law Council of Australia – Winding down Australia’s cheques system – 6 February 2024

Letter to Attorney-General’s Department - Public consultation on the Government's response to the statutory review of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 – 16 November 2023

Letter to Department of Planning and Environment – Planning certificate fees – 19 June 2023

Visit the Rural Issues policy submissions archive

2025 Committee list

G. Ryan (Chair), A. Gordon (Deputy Chair), C. Colwell, C. Egan, A. Ferguson, J. Fletcher, V. Gibson, W. Glowrey, K. Goodacre, S. Morgan, N. Savage, J. Sheen, J. Spear, P. Vagg. (Policy Lawyer: S. Hewison).

How to join a committee
Law Society Committees have powers, authorities and tasks delegated by the Council. Consisting of dedicated volunteers, each committee focuses on a particular area of law, pooling together specialist skills and experience in order to scrutinise legislation, court decisions and other government policies.
There are three broad categories of committees:

• Regulatory committees – perform statutory duties under the Legal Profession Uniform Law (NSW)
• Liaison committees – linked to other professions or organisations
• Policy committees

By drawing on the insights of committees, the Law Society can meet its statutory duties and act as a major player in law reform and policy debates.

See the Law Society Committee webpage