Commonwealth of Australia (As Represented BY the Department of Infrastructure & Regional Development) v Rigney & Anor (No.4)

The Commonwealth of Australia, represented by the Department of Infrastructure and Regional Development, was the applicant in proceedings before Smith J of the Federal Court of Australia. The respondents were Rigney and another party. The dispute concerned the validity of a notice issued under section 184 of the *Native Title Act 1993* (Cth) (the Act) by the Commonwealth, which purported to extinguish native title rights and interests in certain land. The Commonwealth sought declarations that the notice was valid and that native title had been extinguished.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the notice issued under section 184 of the Act was validly made. This required the Court to consider the proper interpretation of section 184, particularly in relation to the procedural requirements and substantive conditions precedent to the issuance of such a notice. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the Minister had properly formed the necessary opinions and satisfied the preconditions stipulated by the Act before authorising the notice.

Smith J reasoned that section 184 of the Act confers a significant power on the Minister, and its exercise must be strictly in accordance with the statutory requirements. The Court found that the evidence did not demonstrate that the Minister had personally formed the requisite opinions or that the delegate had acted within the scope of their delegated authority in a manner that satisfied the statutory preconditions. Consequently, the Court concluded that the notice was not validly issued, as the procedural and substantive requirements of section 184 had not been met.

The Court therefore dismissed the Commonwealth's application for declarations and made orders accordingly.