W D & H O Wills (Australia) Limited v The Consumer Claims Tribunal of New South Wales

In *W D & H O Wills (Australia) Limited v The Consumer Claims Tribunal of New South Wales* [1998] NSWCA 293, the New South Wales Court of Appeal considered an appeal by W D & H O Wills (Australia) Limited against a decision of the Consumer Claims Tribunal. The dispute concerned the Tribunal's jurisdiction to hear and determine a claim brought by a consumer against the company.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the Consumer Claims Tribunal had the power to make an order for the payment of a sum of money exceeding $10,000. This question arose in the context of the *Consumer Claims Tribunals Act 1987* (NSW) and its interaction with the jurisdictional limits of the Tribunal.

The Court of Appeal held that the *Consumer Claims Tribunals Act 1987* conferred jurisdiction on the Tribunal to make orders for the payment of money up to $10,000, but not beyond that limit. The Court reasoned that the legislative intent, as evidenced by the wording of the Act, was to confine the Tribunal's monetary jurisdiction to that specified amount. Therefore, the Tribunal had acted outside its jurisdiction in making an order for a sum greater than $10,000. The appeal was allowed, and the order of the Tribunal was set aside.