King v Director of Housing

The applicants, King and others, sought judicial review of decisions made by the Director of Housing, a statutory corporation. The dispute concerned the Director's refusal to renew the applicants' residential leases and the subsequent service of notices to vacate the premises. The matter came before the Full Court of the Supreme Court of Western Australia.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the Director of Housing's decision not to renew the leases and the decision to serve notices to vacate constituted "decisions" within the meaning of the relevant administrative law legislation, thereby attracting judicial review.

The court reasoned that both the decision not to renew the leases and the decision to serve notices to vacate were substantive and deliberative in nature. These decisions were not merely administrative or procedural but involved the exercise of a statutory power that affected the rights and interests of the applicants. The court applied the principles of administrative law, holding that such decisions, made in the exercise of statutory power and having a direct impact on individuals, were amenable to judicial review.

The appeal was dismissed.