DOWNES Family Trust v Woolworths (WA) Pty Ltd

The matter before the court was an appeal by Downes Family Trust against the decision of the Licensing Court to grant Woolworths (WA) Pty Ltd a conditional grant of a liquor store licence. The Downes Family Trust sought to challenge the licensing decision, arguing that the Licensing Court did not apply the correct legal test when determining whether the grant of a liquor store licence would cause substantial difficulty or inconvenience to the local community. The appeal was heard in the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

The primary legal issue before the court was whether the Licensing Court had correctly applied the statutory test for determining whether the grant of a liquor store licence would cause substantial difficulty or inconvenience to the local community. The relevant statutory test is found in section 38(2b)(a) of the Liquor Licensing Act 1988, which requires the Licensing Court to consider contemporary community standards when determining whether the granting of the licence would cause substantial difficulty or inconvenience to the local community. The Downes Family Trust argued that the Licensing Court had failed to properly apply this test, and that the grant of the licence would cause substantial difficulty or inconvenience to the local community.

The court found that the Licensing Court had correctly applied the statutory test and that the evidence before it did not establish that the grant of the licence would cause substantial difficulty or inconvenience to the local community. The court noted that the Liquor Licensing Act 1988 requires the Licensing Court to consider contemporary community standards when determining whether the granting of the licence would cause substantial difficulty or inconvenience to the local community. The court found that the Licensing Court had properly considered the evidence before it and had applied the correct legal test in reaching its decision. The appeal was therefore dismissed.

The final orders of the court were that the appeal be dismissed, and that the decision of the Licensing Court granting Woolworths (WA) Pty Ltd a conditional grant of the liquor store licence be upheld. The court also ordered that the Downes Family Trust pay the costs of the appeal.