Attorney-General of the Commonwealth v Comcare & Anor

The Attorney-General of the Commonwealth sought the removal of a cause from the Federal Court of Australia into the High Court of Australia, with Comcare and Ms Banerji as respondents. The proceeding in question was identified as ACD28 of 2018. The Attorney-General for New South Wales indicated an intention to intervene, and the Australian Human Rights Commission sought leave to intervene.

The primary legal issue before the High Court was the removal of the cause under section 40(1) of the Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth). This section grants the Attorney-General the right to remove a cause into the High Court. The Court also considered the directions for the future conduct of the proceeding, including the potential for interventions and the estimated hearing length.

The Court determined that the removal of the cause was a matter of right, as provided by section 40(1) of the Judiciary Act. Accordingly, the Court ordered the removal of the entire cause from the Federal Court into the High Court. The parties were directed to proceed in accordance with agreed consent directions dated 11 September 2018. The costs of the parties for the removal hearing were made costs in the cause. The Court also noted the intention to file a notice of contention by 24 September, which was not considered to require consequential alteration of the agreed directions.