Woolworths Limited v Fels and Anor S238/2001

Woolworths Limited (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision made by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) (the first respondent) and its Chairman, Mr. Fels (the second respondent). The ACCC had issued a final notice under section 155 of the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth) requiring Woolworths to provide certain information and documents. Woolworths challenged the validity of this notice, arguing it was issued for an improper purpose. The matter came before Gaudron J in chambers.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the ACCC had acted for an improper purpose in issuing the section 155 notice. Specifically, Woolworths contended that the ACCC's true purpose in seeking the information was not to ascertain whether Woolworths had contravened or was likely to contravene the *Trade Practices Act 1974* (Cth), but rather to gain access to information that would assist the ACCC in formulating future policy or in conducting other investigations unrelated to the specific purpose for which the notice was purportedly issued.

Gaudron J considered the principles governing the exercise of statutory powers, particularly the requirement that such powers must be exercised for the purpose for which they were conferred. Her Honour examined the evidence presented by both parties regarding the ACCC's stated purpose for issuing the notice and Woolworths' allegations of an improper purpose. The Court's reasoning focused on whether the ACCC's actions were rationally connected to the statutory objective of enforcing competition law, or if there was evidence of an ulterior motive that vitiated the exercise of its power.

The application was dismissed.