Hammer v Chief Executive, Department of Lands

In the matter of Hammer and Others v. Chief Executive, Department of Lands, the appellants, including AE Hammer, challenged the valuation of their land as assessed under the Land Act 1962 and the Valuation of Land Act 1944. The crux of the dispute centred on the late filing of the appeals against the rental valuations. The appellants argued that delays in the postal service were responsible for the late submission, but they failed to provide sufficient evidence to substantiate this claim.

The primary legal issue the court needed to resolve was whether the late filing of the appeals was due to undue delay in the transmission of mail in the ordinary course of post, which would provide statutory relief under section 57 of the Valuation of Land Act. The court examined the appellants' private arrangement for mailing the appeals, as well as the official postal process, and assessed whether the appellants had handed over the mail to an officer of Australia Post within the required timeframe. The court found that the appellants did not provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the appeals were handed over to Australia Post in time, thereby failing to meet the statutory requirement for timely filing.

Consequently, the court determined that the late filing of the appeals was not due to undue delay in the transmission of mail and therefore did not have jurisdiction to hear and determine the appeals. The appeals were struck out for want of jurisdiction, affirming that the court's authority to proceed was contingent upon the timely submission of the appeals. The final orders reflect the court's decision to dismiss the appeals due to the lack of jurisdiction.