R v Director-General of Social Welfare (Vict); Ex parte Henry

The High Court of Australia heard an application for a writ of prohibition brought by Henry against the Director-General of Social Welfare (Victoria). The dispute concerned the Director-General's purported exercise of powers under the *Social Welfare Act 1970* (Vic) to take into his care a child, referred to as "the ward," who was allegedly the illegitimate child of Henry. Henry sought to challenge the validity of the Director-General's actions.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Director-General had lawfully exercised his powers under the *Social Welfare Act 1970* (Vic) to take the ward into his care. This involved determining whether the conditions precedent to the exercise of such power, as stipulated by the Act, had been met, and whether the Director-General had acted within the scope of his statutory authority. A further issue was whether the Director-General's decision was amenable to review by way of prohibition.

The Court ultimately held that the Director-General had not lawfully exercised his powers. The majority reasoned that the Director-General had failed to satisfy the statutory requirement of forming a belief that the child was in need of care and protection, which was a prerequisite to taking the child into his care. The Court emphasised that statutory powers must be exercised strictly in accordance with the conditions laid down by the legislature. The application for prohibition was therefore granted.