Minister for Industry and Commerce v Tooheys Ltd

Minister for Industry and Commerce was the appellant and Tooheys Limited the respondent in a case heard by the Federal Court of Australia. The dispute centred around the refusal by the delegate of the Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs to make a determination under section 273 of the Customs Act 1901. Tooheys Limited sought review of this decision, claiming it was an administrative decision subject to review under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977. The appellant contended that the decision was not a reviewable administrative decision but rather a part of the legislative process exempt from such review.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the refusal to make a determination under section 273 constituted a "decision of an administrative character." The court had to determine if this decision was part of the process leading up to the calculation of duty under the Customs Act, potentially rendering it non-reviewable under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977. Additionally, the court needed to delineate the distinction between legislative and administrative acts to ascertain the scope of reviewable decisions.

The court found that the decision in question was not a reviewable administrative decision but part of the legislative process, exempt from review. The court held that the refusal to make a determination under section 273 was not a decision of an administrative character because it was integral to the legislative process of calculating duty. The court concluded that such decisions were not subject to review under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977, thereby dismissing the appeal. The appellant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs of the appeal, and the matter of further hearing, including the question of costs of the hearing of the objection to competency, was referred to another judge of the court.