Manfal Pty Ltd (In Liquidation) v Trade Practices Commission

Manfal Pty Ltd (In Liquidation) sought special leave to appeal from a decision of the Full Federal Court. The Trade Practices Commission and several individuals were respondents. The case concerned the application of a provision of the Western Australian Companies Code, specifically section 358, which purported to bind the Crown in right of the Commonwealth and the States. The applicant relied on this section, which was said to be in comparable terms to section 358 of the Commonwealth's Companies Act 1981, though the latter applied only in the Australian Capital Territory at the time of the decision below.

The primary legal issue before the High Court was whether special leave to appeal should be granted. The respondent argued that special leave should be refused on two main grounds. Firstly, subsequent legislative changes, namely the Corporations Act 1989 and the Corporations Legislation Amendment Act 1990, had rendered the decision of the Full Federal Court of academic interest. Secondly, the respondent contended that the decision below turned solely on the application of section 109 of the Constitution, which deals with inconsistencies between Commonwealth and State laws. The respondent submitted that the Full Federal Court correctly found an inconsistency between the Western Australian section and Commonwealth law, leading to the invalidity of the State provision under section 109, and that this conclusion was not attended by sufficient doubt to warrant special leave.

The court was informed that the respondent's argument was that the Full Federal Court's decision was based on section 109 of the Constitution. This section provides that when a State law is inconsistent with a Commonwealth law, the Commonwealth law prevails and the State law is, to the extent of the inconsistency, invalid. The respondent argued that the Full Federal Court had correctly applied this principle to strike down the relevant Western Australian provision. The court was also advised that the Commonwealth had since submitted itself to the corporations law of Western Australia through its own Act, further diminishing the practical relevance of the appeal.