Frank on behalf of the Mayala People v State of Western Australia (No 3)

The case of Frank on behalf of the Mayala People v State of Western Australia (No 3) involved an application to replace the current applicant under section 66B of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth). The applicants sought to replace Frank, the current representative, with a new group of applicants. The dispute centred on whether the replacement applicants comprised members of the claim group and whether the circumstances outlined in section 66B(1)(a) of the Act were met. The applicants also needed to demonstrate that they were authorised by the claim group and that the court should exercise its discretion to make the order under section 66B.

The legal issues before the court included determining the composition of the replacement applicants and their membership in the claim group. The court also had to consider whether the replacement applicants were authorised by the claim group and whether the circumstances specified in section 66B(1)(a) of the Act were established. Additionally, the court had to exercise its discretion under section 66B to decide whether to replace the current applicant.

The court found that the replacement applicants, Yankui Frank, Max Ejai, Janella Isaac, Jodi Humphries, and Valarie Wiggan, were members of the claim group and were authorised by the claim group. The court concluded that the circumstances in section 66B(1)(a) were satisfied and exercised its discretion to replace the current applicant with the new group of applicants. The court ordered that the current applicant be replaced by the new applicants and waived any requirement to file and serve an amended claimant application. Furthermore, the court dispensed with the requirement to serve the interlocutory application on any respondent other than the State of Western Australia.