Air Caledonie International & Ors v Commonwealth of Australia

In the High Court of Australia, Air Caledonie International and others (the plaintiffs) brought proceedings against the Commonwealth of Australia (the defendant). The dispute concerned the validity of a provision, identified as section 34A, and the plaintiffs' obligation to pay sums collected to the defendant. The Court had previously made orders on 24 November of the preceding year, overruling the Commonwealth's demurrer with costs and declaring section 34A invalid. The action was stood over for mention before a single Justice to determine the Commonwealth's alternative counter-claim regarding the provision's validity and the plaintiffs' liability for collected sums.

The legal issues before the Court were the validity of section 34A and whether the plaintiffs owed the sums they had collected to the defendant. However, the parties subsequently settled the outstanding action.

By consent, the parties sought two orders from the Court. The Chief Justice, Mason CJ, noted that the proposed orders were minimal in substance. The parties sought an order for costs, with a minor amendment to the wording of the proposed order.

By consent, the High Court made orders in terms of the document that had been handed up and placed with the papers. The matter was then adjourned sine die.