International Hotel Limited v McNally

The High Court of Australia heard an appeal from the Supreme Court of South Australia concerning the forfeiture of a publican's licence held by International Hotel Limited. The dispute arose because the company's manager, Mullins, committed three offences within a three-year period for which a licence is liable to forfeiture under the *Licensing Act 1932-1936* (S.A.). However, Mullins was convicted of the third offence after he had ceased to be the manager and a new manager had been approved by the Licensing Court.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the licence of International Hotel Limited was liable to forfeiture under section 77(2) of the *Licensing Act 1932-1936* (S.A.) given that the third conviction of the manager occurred after he had ceased to hold that position. This required the Court to interpret the interplay between section 77(2), which provides for forfeiture upon three convictions of a licence holder within three years, and section 85(3), which deems the manager of a company licensee to be the holder of the licence for the purposes of the Act.

The High Court, by majority, held that the appeal should be allowed. The Court reasoned that while section 85(3) deems the manager to be the licence holder for the purposes of the Act, this deeming provision applies only while the individual holds the position of manager. Therefore, for the forfeiture provisions of section 77(2) to be triggered, the person convicted must be the licence holder (or deemed licence holder) at the time of the conviction. As Mullins was no longer the manager, and thus no longer deemed to be the licence holder, at the time of his third conviction, the conditions for forfeiture under section 77(2) were not met. The Court found that the legislation did not intend for a company's licence to be forfeited based on convictions of a former manager.

Consequently, the High Court discharged the judgment of the Supreme Court of South Australia and allowed the appeal. The order of the Licensing Court declaring the licence forfeited was set aside.