Greater J D Williams Amusement Company Limited v Lord Mayor, Aldermen, Councillors and Citizens of the City of Melbourne

The parties to this matter were The Greater J. D. Williams Amusement Company Limited and the Lord Mayor, Aldermen, Councillors and Citizens of the City of Melbourne. The dispute concerned the validity of a regulation made by the City of Melbourne Council, which prohibited the use of registered buildings for public amusements on Sundays. The case came before the High Court of Australia on an application for special leave to appeal from a decision of the Supreme Court of Victoria.

The legal issue before the court was whether the regulation made by the Melbourne City Council, which stipulated specific hours of operation for registered buildings used for public meetings and amusements, and effectively prohibited their use on Sundays, was within the powers conferred by the Local Government Act 1903 (Vict.) and the by-law adopted by the Council. Specifically, the applicant argued that the regulation exceeded the Council's authority by discriminating between days of the week and by prohibiting use on a particular day, rather than merely regulating the hours of operation.

The court found that the regulation was within the power conferred by clause 4 of Part VI. of the Thirteenth Schedule to the Local Government Act 1903. This clause permitted municipal councils to make regulations for "appointing the times and hours during or at which respectively any such registered building or ground shall be used for the purpose for which it is registered or shall be closed." The court interpreted this power broadly, concluding that it allowed the Council to specify the times and hours of use, which could include prohibiting use on certain days, such as Sundays, by setting closing times that effectively excluded Sunday operation. The court saw no reason to doubt the validity of the regulation.

Special leave to appeal from the Supreme Court of Victoria was refused.