Rola Co (Australia) Pty Ltd v The Commonwealth

Rola Co (Australia) Pty Ltd brought an action against the Commonwealth of Australia and the Electrical Trades Union of Australia, seeking declarations that regulation 5c of the Women's Employment Regulations, and an amendment to it, were invalid. The plaintiff argued that these regulations purported to confer judicial power upon Committees of Reference, contrary to the Commonwealth Constitution. The Commonwealth demurred to the statement of claim.

The High Court was required to determine whether regulation 5c of the Women's Employment Regulations, in its original or amended form, conferred judicial power upon Committees of Reference, thereby contravening sections 71 and 72 of the Commonwealth Constitution. The Court also had to consider whether regulation 2 of Statutory Rules 1944 No. 42, which amended regulation 5c, was valid.

Latham C.J., Starke and McTiernan JJ. held that neither the original nor the amended regulation 5c purported to confer judicial power on the Committees of Reference. They reasoned that the power of the Committees to determine facts was not necessarily judicial, particularly as their determinations were not conclusive in the same way as a court's judgment. The Court noted that the "binding" nature of a determination did not automatically equate to the exercise of judicial power, as this term is used in various contexts, including statutes, contracts, and arbitral awards. Furthermore, they observed that the jurisdiction of the Board and the Committees depended on the actual existence of certain facts, and they could not create their own jurisdiction.

By majority decision, the demurrer was allowed, and the plaintiff's action was dismissed.