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High Court Bulletin

Produced by the Legal Research Officer,
High Court of Australia Library

[2023] HCAB 8 (20 October 2023)

A record of recent High Court of Australia cases: decided, reserved for judgment, awaiting hearing in the Court’s original jurisdiction, granted special leave to appeal, refused special leave to appeal and not proceeding or vacated

1: Summary of New Entries
2: Cases Handed Down
3: Cases Reserved
4: Original Jurisdiction
5: Section 40 Removal
6: Special Leave Granted
7: Cases Not Proceeding or Vacated
8: Special Leave Refused

1: Summary of New Entries

2: Cases Handed Down

Case	Title
Vanderstock & Anor v The State of Victoria	Constitutional Law
Lang v The Queen	Criminal Law

3: Cases Reserved

Case	Title
Potts v National Australia Bank Limited (ABN 12 004 044 937)	Corporations Law
The King v Rohan (a pseudonym)	Criminal Law
Xerri v The King	Sentence
Carmichael Rail Network Pty Ltd as Trustee for the Carmichael Rail Network Trust v BBC Chartering Carriers GmbH & Co. KG & Anor	Shipping and Navigation

4: Original Jurisdiction

5: Section 40 Removal

6: Special Leave Granted

Case	Title
Attorney-General for the State of Tasmania v Casimaty & Anor	Constitutional Law
Commonwealth of Australia v Yunupingu (on behalf of the Gumatj Clan or Estate Group) & Ors	Constitutional Law
Obian v The King	Criminal Law
Greylag Goose Leasing 1410 Designated Activity Company & Anor v P.T. Garuda Indonesia Ltd	Private International Law
Godolphin Australia Pty Ltd ACN 093921021 v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue	Taxation
Bird v DP (a pseudonym)	Torts
Mallonland Pty Ltd ACN 051 136 291 & Anor v Advanta Seeds Pty Ltd ACN 010 933 061	Torts

7: Cases Not Proceeding or Vacated

8: Special Leave Refused

2: Cases Handed Down

The following cases were handed down by the High Court of Australia during the October 2023 sittings.

Constitutional Law

Vanderstock & Anor v The State of Victoria

M61/2021: [2023] HCA 30

Judgment delivered: 18 October 2023

Coram: Kiefel CJ, Gageler, Gordon, Edelman, Steward, Gleeson and Jagot JJ

Catchwords:

Constitutional law (Cth) – Duties of excise – Exclusive power of Commonwealth Parliament – Scope and operation of s 90 of Constitution – Where s 7(1) of Zero and Low Emission Vehicle Distance-based Charge Act 2021 (Vic) ("ZLEV Charge Act") purported to oblige registered operator of zero or low emissions vehicle ("ZLEV") to pay charge for use of ZLEV on "specified roads" ("ZLEV charge") – Where "specified roads" defined to include all roads in Victoria and elsewhere in Australia over which public has right of way – Where ZLEV charge a debt due by registered operator to Victoria – Where question of law stated for opinion of Full Court as to whether s 7(1) of ZLEV Charge Act invalid for imposing duty of excise within meaning of s 90 of Constitution – Whether ZLEV charge properly characterised as tax on goods – Whether definition of duty of excise stated in Capital Duplicators Pty Ltd v Australian Capital Territory [No…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

Case: [2023] HCAB 8
Decision Date

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Vanderstock & Anor v The State of Victoria dealt with the constitutional validity of a zero and low emission vehicle distance-based charge imposed by the State of Victoria. The High Court held that the charge was not a duty of excise within the meaning of section 90 of the Constitution. Lang v The Queen involved an appeal against a murder conviction, where the Court dismissed the appeal, finding that the verdict was not unreasonable or unsupported by the evidence. The case highlighted the importance of independent assessment of evidence in criminal trials.

Orders