Alliance Engineering Pty Ltd v Yarraburn Nominees Pty Ltd

Alliance Engineering Pty Ltd (the appellant) and Yarraburn Nominees Pty Ltd (the first respondent) were parties to a hotel lease. The dispute concerned the appellant's entitlement to transfer poker machine entitlements to a third party without the lessor's consent, a matter arising under the lease and the *Gaming Machines Act 2001* (NSW). The appeal was heard in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the poker machine entitlements, authorised under the *Gaming Machines Act 2001*, constituted a "licence" for the purposes of a term in the hotel lease that prohibited the removal of any licence without the lessor's consent. The court was required to interpret the lease agreement in light of the statutory framework governing poker machines.

The Court of Appeal reasoned that the poker machine entitlements were not merely personal authorisations but were transferable property rights that could be removed from the leased premises. Consequently, the prohibition in the lease against the removal of a licence did not extend to these entitlements. The court applied principles of contractual interpretation, considering the nature of the entitlements under the *Gaming Machines Act 2001*, including sections 15 and 56, which govern the authorisation and transfer of gaming machine licences.

The appeal was dismissed, and the appellants were ordered to pay the costs of the first and second respondents of the appeal.