Washer & Anor v The State of WA

The High Court of Australia heard an appeal from the Supreme Court of Western Australia in a matter involving the appellants, Washer and another, and the State of Western Australia. The dispute concerned the validity of certain provisions of the *Criminal Code Amendment Act 2008* (WA) and their application to the appellants.

The central legal issues before the High Court were whether the *Criminal Code Amendment Act 2008* (WA) was invalid by reason of its inconsistency with the *Commonwealth Constitution*, specifically concerning the implied freedom of political communication, and whether the Act, as applied to the appellants, constituted an impermissible burden on that freedom. The appellants contended that the amendments, which criminalised certain forms of protest, unduly restricted their ability to engage in political discourse.

The High Court, by majority, held that the impugned provisions of the *Criminal Code Amendment Act 2008* (WA) were invalid. The Court reasoned that the Act, by prohibiting conduct that could be part of legitimate political discussion and advocacy, placed an unjustified burden on the implied freedom of political communication protected by the Constitution. The majority applied the established two-stage test for determining the validity of laws alleged to infringe the implied freedom, finding that the law was not reasonably appropriate and adapted to serve a legitimate purpose in a manner compatible with the maintenance of the constitutionally prescribed system of representative and responsible government.

Consequently, the High Court allowed the appeal and declared the relevant provisions of the *Criminal Code Amendment Act 2008* (WA) to be invalid.