Combet v The Commonwealth

The case of *Combet v The Commonwealth* involved a dispute brought before the High Court of Australia by Mr. Combet, a Member of the House of Representatives and Shadow Attorney-General, and Mr. Smith, the Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU). The plaintiffs sought declarations and injunctions to restrain the Commonwealth from expending public funds on advertising promoting the Government's workplace relations reform package, alleging the expenditure was not authorised by the Appropriation Act (No 1) 2005-2006 (Cth).

The central legal issues before the Court were whether the expenditure on the advertisements was authorised by the Appropriation Act (No 1) 2005-2006, specifically whether it fell within the defined "Outcome 2" of the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations, and whether the plaintiffs possessed the requisite standing to bring the action. The Court was also asked to consider the justiciability of the proceedings and whether any relief sought should be refused on discretionary grounds.

The Court, in answering the questions posed in the Special Case, ultimately determined that it was not appropriate to answer the questions regarding the authorisation of the expenditure or the basis for relief. The Court found that the plaintiffs had not established a basis for any of the relief sought, including declarations concerning payments for past advertisements. Consequently, the Court ordered that the plaintiffs pay the costs of the proceedings.