John M Kelly (Builders) Pty Ltd v The Capricornia Electricity Board

In the High Court of Australia, John M. Kelly (Builders) Pty Ltd (the applicant) sought special leave to appeal a decision of the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Queensland. The dispute concerned a contract for the sale of land entered into by the respondent, the Capricornia Electricity Board, which was constituted under the *Electricity Act 1976* (Qld). The applicant contended that the contract was invalid due to non-compliance with a statutory tendering procedure prescribed by section 251(9) of the Act.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the contract for the sale of land, entered into by the Electricity Board without adhering to the tendering procedure mandated by section 251(9) of the *Electricity Act 1976*, was void or otherwise unenforceable. The courts below had determined that the Act did not contain an express or implied prohibition rendering such a contract void.

The High Court was required to consider the interpretation of section 251(9) and its effect on contracts made in contravention of its provisions. The applicant argued that the language of section 251(9), by exhaustively prescribing the permitted modes of contracting for the sale of land, necessarily prohibited any contract entered into otherwise than in accordance with those prescriptions. The courts below, however, had found no such prohibition, concluding that the absence of an express or implied provision for voidness or unenforceability meant the contract was not prohibited.