Smith Kline & French Laboratories (Aust) Ltd v The Commonwealth

The High Court of Australia heard an appeal from the Supreme Court of New South Wales in a dispute between Smith Kline & French Laboratories (Aust) Ltd and The Commonwealth. The core of the disagreement concerned the validity of a notice issued by the Minister for Health under section 31 of the *Therapeutic Goods Act 1989* (Cth) which prohibited the importation of certain goods. Smith Kline & French Laboratories sought to import a new pharmaceutical product, and the Minister's notice effectively prevented this.

The central legal question before the High Court was whether the Minister's notice, issued under section 31 of the *Therapeutic Goods Act 1989*, was invalid for failing to comply with the requirements of procedural fairness. Specifically, the court had to determine if the Minister was obliged to afford Smith Kline & French Laboratories an opportunity to be heard before issuing the prohibition notice, and if the notice itself was sufficiently certain and specific to be valid.

The High Court, in a majority decision, held that the Minister's power under section 31 was not conditioned on the observance of procedural fairness. The Court reasoned that the statutory language indicated a broad discretion vested in the Minister to act in the public interest to prevent the importation of therapeutic goods deemed harmful. The prohibition notice was found to be sufficiently certain, as it clearly identified the goods to which it applied. Consequently, the Court found the notice to be valid and the appeal was dismissed.