Girardi v Commissioner of State Taxation

The Supreme Court of South Australia heard an appeal by Girardi against the Commissioner of State Taxation regarding a land tax assessment on a property located at Sellicks Beach. Girardi had lodged a notice of objection to the assessment, but the Minister had not yet determined the objection. The appeal was brought to the Supreme Court under the provisions of section 92, but the Commissioner applied to dismiss the proceedings on the basis that the appeal was incompetent. The primary issue for the court was whether the appeal was competent, given that Girardi had not paid the full amount of the tax and had not sought the Minister's discretion to permit the right of appeal.

The court considered that a dismissal of proceedings pursuant to rule 193 of the Supreme Court Civil Rules is procedural and does not settle any underlying controversy. The Commissioner accepted that such a dismissal would not prevent Girardi from exercising a right of appeal in the future once statutory restrictions are overcome. The court referenced the decision in Bradman v Allens Arthur Robinson (No 2), where Kourakis J highlighted that a dismissal of proceedings for not disclosing a reasonable cause of action or being frivolous, vexatious, or an abuse of process, does not involve an adjudication of the underlying legal matter. The court concluded that in such cases, there can be no objection to a further action on the ground that the claim made is res judicata. The court found that this appeal was incompetent because Girardi had not satisfied the statutory preconditions for appealing.

The court held that the appeal was incompetent and dismissed it. Consequently, the appeal was dismissed on the basis that it did not meet the statutory requirements for being heard.

ORDERS:
The appeal is dismissed. The appeal is deemed incompetent.