State of New South Wales v The Commonwealth of Australia; State of Western Australia v The Commonwealth of Australia; State of South Australia v The Commonwealth of Australia

The High Court of Australia heard applications by the States of New South Wales, Western Australia, and South Australia against the Commonwealth of Australia. The core dispute concerned the validity of the *Corporations Act 1989* and the *Close Corporations Act*, with the plaintiff States arguing that these laws were substantially invalid, primarily because they were not supported by the corporations power under section 51(xx) of the Constitution.

The legal issues before the Court revolved around whether section 51(xx) of the Constitution empowered the Commonwealth Parliament to legislate for the incorporation of trading and financial corporations. This question was central to determining the validity of the *Corporations Act 1989* and related legislation.

The Court's reasoning, as indicated by the proceedings, focused on the constitutional basis for Commonwealth legislation concerning corporations. Following the Court's judgment on the underlying constitutional question, discussions between the Commonwealth and the States led to heads of agreement. These agreements were then translated into a legislative scheme, giving effect to an amendment bill. The effect of this amendment bill was to convert the *Corporations Act 1989* into a law for the Australian Capital Territory under section 122 of the Constitution, to be known as the corporations law of the ACT. Crucially, no provision of the amended Act would be supported by section 51(xx) of the Constitution.