CC Auto Port Pty Ltd v Minister for Works

CC Auto Port Pty Ltd (the applicant) sought a writ of mandamus against the Minister for Works (the respondent) in the High Court of Australia. The applicant sought to compel the Minister to grant a permit for the construction of a service station on land it owned in Western Australia. The Minister had refused to grant the permit, citing a policy of the Western Australian Government that no further service stations should be constructed in the metropolitan area.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the Minister's refusal to grant the permit was lawful. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the Minister was entitled to refuse the permit based on a policy that had not been formally enacted as legislation or regulation, and whether such a policy could fetter the exercise of the Minister's discretion under the relevant legislation. The applicant argued that the Minister's discretion was not absolute and that the refusal was an improper exercise of that discretion.

The Court held that the Minister's discretion to grant or refuse a permit was not unfettered and could not be exercised for reasons outside the scope of the governing legislation. While the Minister was entitled to consider government policy, that policy could not be applied in a manner that effectively amended or superseded the statutory requirements for obtaining a permit. The Court found that the Minister had acted on the basis of a policy that was not legally binding and had failed to consider the specific merits of the applicant's proposal as required by the legislation. The Court concluded that the Minister's refusal was an improper exercise of his statutory power.

The High Court ordered that a writ of mandamus issue, directing the Minister for Works to reconsider the application for the permit in accordance with the law.