Rodriguez & Sons Pty Ltd v Queensland Bulk Water Supply Authority t-as Seqwater & Ors

Rodriguez & Sons Pty Ltd (the applicant) sought judicial review of decisions made by the Queensland Bulk Water Supply Authority trading as Seqwater (Seqwater) and the Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy (the Minister). The dispute concerned Seqwater's refusal to grant the applicant a water licence for irrigation purposes and the Minister's subsequent confirmation of that refusal on internal review. The application was heard in the Supreme Court of Queensland.

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether Seqwater's decision to refuse the water licence was affected by jurisdictional error, and whether the Minister's decision on internal review was similarly affected. Specifically, the applicant contended that Seqwater failed to take into account relevant considerations and took into account irrelevant considerations when assessing the application, and that the Minister's review was vitiated by the same errors. The applicant also argued that the decisions were affected by an error of law in the interpretation of the relevant legislative provisions.

Gleeson J found that Seqwater's decision-making process did not involve jurisdictional error. The Court held that Seqwater had considered the relevant statutory criteria and had not taken into account irrelevant matters. The Minister's review was also found to be valid, as the Minister had properly considered the grounds of review and the evidence before them. The Court applied principles of administrative law concerning the grounds for judicial review, including the proper construction of statutory powers and the requirement for decision-makers to consider all relevant factors and disregard irrelevant ones. The Court concluded that the applicant had not demonstrated that the decisions were affected by jurisdictional error or error of law.

The application for judicial review was dismissed.