Minister for Home and Territories v Lazarus

In *Minister for Home and Territories v Lazarus*, the High Court of Australia considered a dispute concerning compensation payable by the Commonwealth for the compulsory acquisition of land within the Federal Capital Territory. The Minister for Home and Territories was the plaintiff, and Morris Lazarus, the owner of the land and a licensed victualler operating a business on it, was the defendant. The core of the dispute revolved around the date at which the value of the defendant's business and its goodwill should be assessed for the purpose of determining compensation.

The legal issue before the Court was whether the value of the defendant's business and the goodwill attaching to it should be assessed as at 8 October 1908, or as at the date of acquisition, 23 March 1916. This question arose from the interpretation of section 10 of the *Seat of Government Acceptance Act 1909*, as amended by section 10 of the *Seat of Government (Administration) Act 1910*. This provision stipulated that compensation should not exceed the unimproved value of the land as at 8 October 1908, plus the value of the owner's interest in the improvements on the land at the date of acquisition.

The Court reasoned that the proviso in section 10 of the *Seat of Government Acceptance Act 1909*, as amended, established a specific method for calculating compensation. It divided the compensation into two components: the unimproved value of the land as at 8 October 1908, and the value of the improvements at the date of acquisition. The Court held that goodwill, to the extent it added value to the land, was to be considered part of the unimproved value of the land and therefore should be assessed as at 8 October 1908. The value of the business itself, as distinct from the goodwill's contribution to the land's value, was not to be assessed separately as an improvement. The Court also determined that the costs of the reference should be costs in the cause.