Scotts Agencies v City of Mt Gambier

Scotts Agencies Pty Ltd (the appellant) appealed to the High Court of Australia against a decision of the Supreme Court of South Australia, which had upheld a decision of the respondent, the City of Mount Gambier (the respondent council). The dispute concerned the validity of a notice issued by the respondent council under section 317 of the *Local Government Act 1934* (SA) requiring the appellant to remove certain structures from land it occupied. The appellant contended that the notice was invalid because it had not been properly served.

The central legal issue before the High Court was whether the service of the notice on the appellant, a company, was effective in accordance with the requirements of section 317 of the *Local Government Act 1934* (SA) and, by extension, section 60(1)(b) of the *Companies Act 1962* (SA) (which was in force at the time). Specifically, the court had to determine if service at the appellant's registered office, which was also the office of its solicitors, constituted valid service on the company.

Gleeson CJ and Hayne J, in a joint judgment, held that service on the appellant was not valid. They reasoned that section 60(1)(b) of the *Companies Act 1962* (SA) required service to be effected at the company's registered office, but this did not mean that service on any person found at that office would suffice. The section contemplated service on the company itself, and in the context of a company, this meant service on an authorised officer or agent. The court found that the solicitors at the registered office were not authorised to accept service on behalf of the appellant for the purposes of the notice. Therefore, the notice was not validly served, and the appellant's appeal was allowed.