Hobbins v Commonwealth of Australia

The claimant, Mr Hobbins, brought proceedings against the Commonwealth of Australia for personal injuries sustained during his employment. The central dispute concerned whether Mr Hobbins' right of action was barred by a statutory provision that removed such rights, subject to an exception requiring an election. Mr Hobbins had made an election, and the critical question was when his cause of action arose for the purposes of the relevant limitation period. The matter came before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether the primary judge had erred in finding that Mr Hobbins' cause of action had arisen at a time that rendered his claim out of time, notwithstanding his election. This involved interpreting the operation of the statutory provision that removed the right of action and the conditions under which that removal could be avoided by an election. The court also had to consider whether to grant an extension of time for the appeal and whether to grant leave to appeal.

The Court of Appeal reasoned that the primary judge had misconstrued the relevant legislation. It held that the cause of action, for the purposes of the limitation period, arose at the time of the election, not at the time of the injury. This interpretation meant that Mr Hobbins' claim was not out of time. The court granted the claimant an extension of time for the application and leave to appeal, ultimately allowing the appeal.

The Court of Appeal set aside the order of the primary judge and, in its place, dismissed the Commonwealth's notice of motion. The Commonwealth was ordered to pay Mr Hobbins' costs of the appeal, and Mr Hobbins was ordered to file his notice of appeal within fourteen days.