Springsure Creek Coal Pty Ltd v Sullivan

Springsure Creek Coal Pty Ltd sought to object to Sullivan's application for mining leases and environmental authorities, as well as to Sullivan's application for compensation. Sullivan had gone into administration under Part 5.3A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), and Springsure argued that the objections should be stayed due to the moratorium on proceedings against Sullivan. The court had to decide if the objections under the Mining Act 1992 (Qld) and the Environmental Protection Act 1994 (Qld) were "proceedings" against Sullivan "in a court" as defined in section 440D of the Corporations Act, and whether the application for compensation was a "proceeding" against Sullivan "in a court".

The court examined the definition of "proceeding" in section 440D of the Corporations Act and found that the objections under both the Mining Act and the Environmental Protection Act qualified as "proceedings" against Sullivan "in a court". The court considered the nature of the objections and their implications for Sullivan's administration, concluding that the objections were indeed proceedings against Sullivan "in a court". The court also found that the application for compensation was a "proceeding" against Sullivan "in a court". Consequently, the court decided that both the objection proceedings and the compensation application were subject to the stay imposed by section 440D of the Corporations Act.

The court ordered that the objection proceedings under the Mining Act and the Environmental Protection Act were stayed by the operation of section 440D of the Corporations Act. This meant that Springsure's objections to Sullivan's applications for mining leases, environmental authorities, and compensation were temporarily halted due to Sullivan's administration.