Re Culleton

The High Court of Australia considered an appeal concerning the bankruptcy of Mr. Culleton, who had been declared bankrupt on 15 December 2016. The dispute arose from an application by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) to have Mr. Culleton declared bankrupt due to unpaid tax debts. The primary issue before the High Court was whether Mr. Culleton was eligible to be a member of the House of Representatives, and consequently, whether his bankruptcy had disqualified him from holding that office.

The central legal question before the Court was whether Mr. Culleton was disqualified from being a member of the House of Representatives by reason of his being an undischarged bankrupt, pursuant to section 44(ii) of the *Constitution*. This required the Court to determine the precise date on which Mr. Culleton became an undischarged bankrupt and whether, at that time, he was a member of the House of Representatives.

The Court reasoned that the bankruptcy commenced on the date the bankruptcy notice was served on Mr. Culleton, which was 15 December 2016. As Mr. Culleton was a member of the House of Representatives at that time, he was disqualified from continuing to hold that office by operation of section 44(ii) of the *Constitution*. The Court noted that the bankruptcy notice was not a nullity, and the subsequent proceedings in the Federal Court did not affect the commencement of the bankruptcy.

The High Court declared that Mr. Culleton had been disqualified from being a member of the House of Representatives from 15 December 2016.