4 Boys (NSW) v ILGA [2022] NSWSC 1689
Section 34(4) of the Gaming Machines Act allowed ILGA to increase a venue’s gaming machine threshold. There was no express power to revoke a decision to increase, but s 48(1) of the Interpretation Act 1987 provided that statutory functions ‘may be exercised … from time to time as occasion requires’.
Did this …
Wipro Ltd v NSW [2022] NSWCA 265
Did employment in India under separate arrangements with the same entity count as part of ‘continuous service’ for long service leave purposes?8 This depended on territorial reach of the legislation and the presumption against extraterritoriality9, each of which depend on interpretation.
The task is to identify the ‘hinge’ or central …
White (pseudonym) v The King [2022] VSCA 278
Could W consent to joinder of unrelated incest charges in the same indictment? The statute said an indictment ‘must … comply with Schedule 1’12, which stated that only ‘related offences’ could be joined.
Two judges (at [65]) noted the old principle that a person can waive a statutory right enacted …
Modern Statutory Interpretation
If a single word describes this textbook from Jeffrey Barnes, Jacinta Dharmananda and Eamonn Moran14, that word is ‘comprehensive’. Among its strengths are the practical guidance it provides, its concise and up-to date explanations, and its worked examples.
There are 43 chapters, key ones being Ch 9 practical techniques, Ch 4 legislative intent, Ch 7 …
When the High Court frames an interpretation issue these days, it often says no more than that the legislation ‘is to be interpreted by considering the text, having regard to its context and purpose’1. This mirrors the position legislated for in New Zealand, where s 10(1) of the Legislation Act 2019 provides – ‘The meaning of legislation must …
Walker v Members Equity Bank [2022] FCAFC 184
Under the ASIC Act, prosecution of one offence ‘may be commenced within 3 years after [its] commission’4. Was this a hard time limit, or did the word ‘may’ make it merely discretionary, optional or permissive?
Wigney J (at [41-50]) went with the former. While laws providing that a person, court …
Gageler J in a new book ‘Dynamic and Principled’
Ch 1 in a book about Sir Anthony Mason is titled The Coming of Age of Australian Law7. Gageler J calls out 2 developments in interpretation as contributing to this ‘coming of age’. The first was federal legislation ‘mandating attention to legislative purpose and facilitating recourse to extrinsic materials’…
Realestate.com.au v Hardingham [2022] HCA 39
R commissioned H to photograph properties for sale under an informal agreement. R later provided them to a sub-licensee for uploading to a subscription website. H sued R for breach of copyright.
In determining contractual terms, Kiefel CJ and Gageler J (at [15-17]) said the test is what reasonable people with knowledge of the …
Nuon [2022] FCAFC 197 & QCoal [2022] QCA 237
These appeal cases show the different meanings ‘includes’ may take in a statutory definition13. In Nuon (at [22]), it removed doubt that certain things fell within ‘imprisonment’ as ordinarily understood14. In QCoal (at [57]), it extended the ordinary meaning. This was confirmed by the fact that inclusions …
Lord Wilberforce once said the uncertainty of words was what made statutory interpretation ‘so exciting’. This must be one of the most super-nerdy statements in legal history. It was made at a symposium held prior to the enactment of s 15AB1. It reveals, however, two fundamental truths about the ‘modern method’ we are to apply. The first is …
