State of Queensland v Stephenson

The High Court of Australia considered appeals from the Queensland Court of Appeal concerning applications to extend limitation periods under the *Limitation of Actions Act 1974* (Qld). The appellants, the State of Queensland, appealed decisions that allowed former police officers, Peter Robert Stephenson, Scott Walter Reeman, and Timothy James Wrightson, to extend the limitation period for their negligence claims. Each plaintiff had sued the State for damages for personal injury arising from psychiatric conditions developed after performing undercover duties, with their actions instituted more than three years after their causes of action accrued.

The central legal issue before the High Court was the interpretation of section 31(2)(a) of the *Limitation of Actions Act 1974* (Qld). Specifically, the court had to determine whether this provision was satisfied when a material fact of a decisive character relating to a right of action only attained that decisive character after the "relevant date," which was the commencement of the year preceding the expiration of the limitation period, even if the fact itself was within the applicant's means of knowledge before that date. The court also considered the application of a purposive approach to statutory interpretation for remedial legislation.

The High Court allowed the appeals, setting aside the orders of the Court of Appeal. The majority reasoned that the "beneficial" or "liberal" approach to remedial legislation, consistent with the statutory language, favoured an interpretation where a fact could become of a "decisive character" after the relevant date, even if known earlier. This interpretation aligned with the purpose of section 31 to prevent unjust outcomes caused by earlier limitations law. The court found that the Court of Appeal's interpretation was more consistent with this approach. Consequently, the High Court ordered that the plaintiffs' applications and actions be dismissed, with judgment entered for the defendant, the State of Queensland, in each case.