One of former premier Mike Baird's most senior staff has applied to start lobbying the state government on behalf of a range of private clients just months after leaving his job.
Nigel Blunden, who was Mr Baird's director of strategy until he quit politics in January, established Nigel Blunden and Associates last month with his wife Kate, a former staff member of cabinet minister Anthony Roberts.
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Fairfax Media can reveal that among the foundation clients listed by Mr Blunden in his registration application are Tennis Australia and Plenary Ventures (Roads) Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of public-private partnership specialists Plenary Group.
Ministers and parliamentary secretaries must undertake an 18-month "cooling off" period before they can lobby the government in areas they had responsibility for 18 months prior to leaving office.
However, despite recommendations by the Independent Commission Against Corruption, there are no such rules in place for former senior staff like Mr Blunden.
Tennis Australia wants the NSW government to build new tennis courts in central Sydney as part of its stadia plan.
Plenary Group has formed a joint venture, Netflow, which is considering bidding for the $16.8 billion WestConnex tollway.
Mr Blunden's application is being processed by the NSW Electoral Commission, which manages the register of companies wishing to lobby the state government.
"My work and clients have been disclosed to the NSW Electoral Commission and I have no further comment," Mr Blunden told Fairfax Media.
Mr Blunden has had a close working relationship with Mr Baird, who resigned as premier and three months later took a senior job as National Australia Bank's chief customer officer.
Before joining him in the Premier's office, Mr Blunden served as a senior adviser to Mr Baird while he was Treasurer.
In its 2010 Operation Halifax inquiry into the corruption risks involved in political lobbying in NSW, ICAC recommended a cooling off period for senior staff before they could begin lobbying government.
It recommended that "former ministerial and parliamentary secretary staff and former senior government representatives shall not, for a period of 12 months after leaving their public sector position, engage in any lobbying activity relating to any matter that they had official dealings with in their last 12 months in office".
Plenary Group declined to comment. In a statement, Tennis Australia said it "engages consultants to work with its business and develop opportunities in the Australian market".