Allied Interstate (Qld) Pty Ltd v Barnes

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal by Allied Interstate (Qld) Pty Ltd against a judgment of the Supreme Court of Queensland in favour of the respondent, Barnes. The dispute concerned the validity of a contract for the sale of land, specifically whether the contract was void for uncertainty or for failure to comply with the requirements of the *Land Sales Act 1967* (Qld).

The central legal issues before the High Court were whether the contract, which contained a clause requiring the purchaser to obtain finance on terms and conditions satisfactory to the vendor, was sufficiently certain to be enforceable, and whether the contract offended the provisions of the *Land Sales Act 1967* (Qld) by requiring the purchaser to obtain finance.

The Court held that the clause requiring the purchaser to obtain finance on terms satisfactory to the vendor did not render the contract void for uncertainty. It was determined that the vendor's satisfaction was an objective standard, capable of being assessed. Furthermore, the Court found that the *Land Sales Act 1967* (Qld) did not prohibit such a clause, as it did not impose an obligation on the purchaser to obtain finance, but rather made the contract conditional upon the purchaser's ability to do so. The appeal was therefore allowed.