Deputy Commissioner of Taxation for the Commonwealth of Australia v Robertson Jnr

In the Federal Court of Australia, the Deputy Commissioner of Taxation brought proceedings against Robertson Jnr concerning a dispute over unpaid taxes. The Commissioner sought a continuation of a Mareva injunction, which was a court order preventing Robertson Jnr from disposing of assets that could be used to satisfy a potential judgment. The primary concern was whether there was a serious case to be tried and a real risk of asset disposition by Robertson Jnr. The court had to consider the relevance of affidavit evidence from prior criminal investigations to the risk of asset disposition and whether evidence of actual attempts to dissipate assets was necessary to demonstrate that Robertson Jnr was "entirely dishonest."

The court examined the elements required to maintain a Mareva injunction, including the existence of a serious case to be tried and the risk of asset disposition. It assessed the relevance of the affidavit evidence from prior criminal investigations in determining the risk of asset disposition and considered whether such evidence was sufficient to establish the risk, even in the absence of evidence of actual attempts to dissipate assets. The court's task was to balance the need to protect the Commissioner's potential judgment debt against Robertson Jnr's right to access their assets.

The court concluded that there was a serious case to be tried, based on the affidavit evidence from prior criminal investigations which demonstrated a real risk of asset disposition by Robertson Jnr. It held that the evidence was relevant and sufficient to establish this risk, even in the absence of evidence of actual attempts to dissipate assets. The court found that Robertson Jnr's conduct indicated a level of dishonesty that justified the continuation of the Mareva injunction. The court granted the Commissioner's application to continue the Mareva injunction against Robertson Jnr.