R v Rolfe [2021] HCA 38
A police officer fatally shot an indigenous man during an arrest and was later acquitted of murder. A side issue went to the High Court on the scope of police powers8. On the impact of section headings on interpretation, the court said (at [18]) that ‘a modern approach to statutory construction often …
Amir v Professional Standards [2022] FCAFC 44
Ordinary meaning, the court said11, ‘must necessarily yield to the relevant statutory context’12. The ordinary meaning of ‘decision’ is a conclusion resulting from a mental process translated by an overt act giving finality to that conclusion13. What kind of overt act was required here and when?
The …
NSW Commissioner of Police v Cottle [2022] HCA 7
On being compulsorily retired under police laws, Cottle sued for unfair dismissal4. One issue was whether those laws blocked this action. Answer – ‘no’. Overlapping statutes ‘should be construed in a way that best achieves a harmonious result’5, even if sometimes they cannot ‘stand or live together’…
Carr v Carr [2022] NSWSC 166
This case involved an application to exhume a body for reburial at a different location – refused. Leeming JA dealt with two related points of interpretation.
The first (at [82]) is that, while changes to words normally imply changes to meaning, ‘syntactical analysis has its limits’ where the change is minor7. The …
FCT v Shell Energy Holdings [2022] FCAFC 2
To depreciate the cost of an additional interest in statutory titles, Shell had to show the activities undertaken were for ‘exploration’11. That term was informed by the way it was used in petroleum laws12. In this context, ‘exploration’ took no narrow meaning and a deduction was available.
Allsop …
Sri Guru Gobind Singh v Minister [2022] FCA 118
Was the phrase ‘and includes’ to be read exhaustively as ‘means and includes’ in this migration case? An analysis of the regulation (at [126-128]) revealed no aim to limit the meaning of ‘adverse information’ to the items listed in the relevant definition. It followed that ‘and includes’ should take its natural …
Perpetual Corporate Trust v CST [2022] SASC 7
Should tax exemptions be read liberally? A stamp duty provision conferred a broad exemption on property not used for ‘residential purposes’4. Exemptions having a purpose to benefit a class of activity are generally to be read liberally5. This reflects the principle that ‘all legislation is to be construed …
Stefanski v Western Australia [2022] WASCA 5
The instruction to ‘start with the statute’ has particular bite when it comes to legislative codes replacing the common law. This appeal raised criminal code ‘unsoundness of mind’ provisions regarding intentional intoxication or stupefaction8.
Buss P (at [119-120]) said the code had to be read ‘without any presumption that it was …
Lanigan v Circus Oz [2022] VSC 35
A performer took VCAT harassment proceedings against the circus. One issue was whether VCAT was a ‘court’ for limitation of action purposes11. VCAT had been held to be a ‘court’ for other purposes12.
McDonald J (at [35]) held it was not a ‘court’ here. The statutory framework was different …
ACCC v J Hutchinson Pty Ltd [2022] FCA 98
The starting idea that the same word used in the same statute takes the same meaning has near mythic status14. In this competition case, Downes J (at [281]) said that, where the same concepts are used in a suite of provisions, ‘a consistent meaning should ordinarily be given’15…
