Harradine v The University of Adelaide

Brendan Conway Harradine (the applicant) sought special leave to appeal from a judgment of the Full Court of the Supreme Court of South Australia. The dispute concerned the validity of regulation 8(a) of the Statutes of the University of Adelaide, which imposed an entrance fee and an annual fee for membership of the Adelaide University Union on students proceeding to a degree or diploma. The applicant argued that the University lacked the power to compel students to pay such a fee for union membership.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether regulation 8(a) of the University's Statutes was a valid exercise of the University's legislative power under section 22 of the Act. Specifically, the court had to determine if the power to make regulations, as conferred by section 22(1)(f) and (l), extended to authorising the compulsory imposition of a fee for membership of the Adelaide University Union. Section 22(1)(f) empowered the Council to make statutes prescribing fees for instruction, tuition, applications for awards, or "any other matters," while section 22(1)(l) related to "any other matter pertaining to the administration of the University."

The applicant contended that the University had no power to compel students to pay for union membership, as the Adelaide University Union, while recognised by the Act, was distinct from the University's core academic functions. The Full Court had previously held that regulation 8(a) was authorised by both section 22(1)(f) and section 22(1)(l), interpreting "any other matters" broadly to include compulsory union fees. The applicant's challenge focused specifically on the annual fee for union membership.