Huon Aquaculture Group Limited v Minister for the Environment

Huon Aquaculture Group Limited sought a declaration that a decision of the Minister for the Environment regarding a referral under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (Cth) was invalid, and sought other relief. The Minister determined that the proposed action was not a controlled action if carried out in accordance with specified manner provisions. The court was required to decide whether the relief should be refused assuming the invalidity of the decision, given the applicants' delay, acquiescence, and the effect on other parties who had ordered their affairs in reliance on the decision. The court found that the applicants had delayed in taking action, had acquiesced in the decision by continuing to take economic advantage of it, and that other parties had ordered their affairs in reliance on the decision. The court held that these factors weighed heavily against granting relief.

The court concluded that the applicants' delay and acquiescence in the decision, along with the effect on other parties, justified refusing relief. The applicants had not provided a plausible explanation for their delay in challenging the decision, and had continued to take economic advantage of it until they commenced proceedings. The court held that the principles applying to the discretion to grant relief weighed against granting the relief sought by the applicants. The application was dismissed, and the applicants were ordered to pay costs.