Growers Wine Group Pty Ltd and Wine Australia

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for a stay of a decision made by Wine Australia to cancel the wine export licence of Growers Wine Group Pty Ltd. The dispute centred on whether the interests of the Australian wine industry, as represented by Wine Australia, outweighed the interests of Growers Wine Group in having the licence cancellation stayed pending a full review of the decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was to determine whether to grant a stay of Wine Australia's decision to cancel the export licence, pursuant to section 41(2) of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975*. This required the Tribunal to weigh the competing interests of the applicant, Growers Wine Group, against the broader interests of the Australian wine industry.

Deputy President Britten-Jones P reasoned that the cancellation of an export licence by Wine Australia, a statutory body responsible for regulating the wine industry, carried significant weight. The Tribunal considered that allowing exports to continue under a licence that had been cancelled by the regulator could undermine the integrity of the Australian wine export market and potentially damage the reputation of the industry internationally. Consequently, the Tribunal found that the interests of the Australian wine industry, in maintaining confidence and regulatory oversight in export markets, were paramount and outweighed the immediate commercial interests of Growers Wine Group.

The Tribunal therefore refused the application for a stay of the decision to cancel the wine export licence.