The Trust Company (Australia) Limited as Trustee of the Kyle Williams Home Trust v Attorney General New South Wales

In this case, The Trust Company (Australia) Limited as Trustee of the Kyle Williams Home Trust sought the court's determination regarding the application of trust property in accordance with a cy-pres scheme. The property in question had become impracticable to use for its intended charitable purpose from the time of the testatrix's death. The Attorney General of New South Wales was the opposing party in this matter, which was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The primary legal issue before the court was whether the trust property should be applied under a cy-pres scheme and, if so, how this should be executed.

The court examined whether it was impracticable to apply the trust property for its original purpose, and if so, whether a cy-pres scheme was appropriate. The court also considered whether the proposed cy-pres scheme was the best way to settle the trust property. The plaintiff argued that the property should be sold, but the court found that the plaintiff had not demonstrated that the proposed scheme was the best way to settle the trust property. Furthermore, the court noted that the plaintiff had not yet justified selling the trust property as there had been no advertisement designed to elicit a response as to whether another entity could use the trust property for the purpose within the general charitable intention.

The court decided that the application for trust property to be applied cy-pres should proceed in two stages. Firstly, the court would determine whether the trust property should be applied cy-pres, and secondly, it would consider the best way to apply the trust property in accordance with a cy-pres scheme. The court found that the plaintiff had failed to demonstrate that the proposed scheme was the best way of settling the trust property and, therefore, the application for trust property to be applied cy-pres was not justified at that time. The final orders of the court were that the application for trust property to be applied cy-pres be dismissed.