Australian Broadcasting Commission v Industrial Court (SA)

The Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) sought judicial review of a decision made by the Industrial Court of South Australia. The dispute concerned the ABC's liability for long service leave entitlements of its employees, specifically whether the ABC was an "instrumentality or agency of the Crown" for the purposes of the Long Service Leave Act 1967 (SA). The matter came before the High Court of Australia.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the ABC, as a statutory corporation established by federal legislation, was subject to the provisions of a South Australian state Act concerning long service leave. This required the Court to consider the relationship between federal and state legislative powers and the extent to which a federal body could be bound by state law, particularly in the context of employment entitlements.

The High Court held that the ABC, despite being a federal statutory corporation, was not an instrumentality or agency of the Crown in right of South Australia and therefore was not bound by the Long Service Leave Act 1967 (SA). The Court reasoned that the ABC's powers and functions were derived from federal legislation and that it operated independently of the South Australian government. The principle applied was that a federal body, unless expressly or by necessary implication stated in federal law, is not subject to the legislative control of a state. The Court distinguished the ABC from bodies that might be considered Crown instrumentalities by virtue of their direct control or subservience to a state government.