Allmaster Software Pty Ltd and Australian Trade and Investment Commission

This matter concerned an application for an export market development grant by Allmaster Software Pty Ltd (the Applicant) against a decision by the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (the Respondent). The dispute arose from the Respondent's decision to treat the Applicant's grant application as a "Year 5" application, based on the determination that the Applicant had purchased a business in 2006 from a previous owner who had received grants for that same business. This classification had the effect of denying the Applicant a grant for the 2014-2015 grant year. The Applicant sought a review of this decision.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Applicant, as the new owner, was carrying on the business of the previous owner, Computer Systems (Australia) Pty Limited (CSA), or a part of that business, for the purposes of section 94 of the relevant Act. This section allows a new owner to be treated as the previous owner for grant purposes if they carry on the old business or a similar business that is considered a continuation of the old business. The court was required to determine if the Applicant's business, acquired in 2006, constituted a continuation of CSA's Quisine Product business, thereby triggering the provisions of section 94.

Deputy J W Constance P affirmed the Respondent's decision, reasoning that section 94 of the Act did not impose a requirement for the new owner to carry on the business for a specific period of time after purchase. The evidence indicated that the Applicant acquired the business in 2006 and applied for a grant in 2015. The court found that the Applicant was indeed carrying on the business or a part of the business previously carried on by CSA, and that there was no statutory impediment to treating the Applicant as a continuation of the previous owner's business simply because the business was acquired and operated by the Applicant directly after the purchase. The court applied the principles of section 94, focusing on the continuity of the business itself rather than the duration of its operation by the new owner.