Williams v Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council [2019] HCA 4

Williams v Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council [2019] HCA 4

The Court held that, except to the extent that the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (ACT) prohibits subletting, there is no direct inconsistency or mutually exclusive operation between the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (ACT) and the Aboriginal Land Grant (Jervis Bay Territory) Act 1986 (Cth). The Land Grant Act does not contain a complete and exhaustive code for the terms and conditions of leases and does not exclude the operation of general tenancy protections (such as maintenance obligations). Only those provisions which are incapable of concurrent operation—here, restraints on subletting—are inoperative. The appeal was allowed and the answers to the special case were given in accordance...

Parties
Appellant: Glen Richard Williams; First Respondent: Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council; Second Respondent: Solicitor-General for the Australian Capital Territory (for the ACT)
Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
13 February 2019
Procedural Posture
Appeal / High Court Judgment and Orders on Appeal From ACT Supreme Court Court of Appeal
Outcome
Appeal allowed
Legal Topics
Inconsistency Between Commonwealth and Territory Laws, Operation of Residential Tenancies Legislation on Aboriginal Land, Interpretation of Aboriginal Land Grant Acts
Constitutional Law Land Law Territories Law Inconsistency Between Commonwealth and Territory Laws Operation of Residential Tenancies Legislation on Aboriginal Land Interpretation of Aboriginal Land Grant Acts

Case Brief

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Parties

Glen Richard Williams

Appellant

Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council

First Respondent

Solicitor-General for the Australian Capital Territory (for the ACT)

Second Respondent

Procedural Posture

Appeal / High Court Judgment and Orders on Appeal From ACT Supreme Court Court of Appeal

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (ACT), in whole or in part, is not capable of operating concurrently with the Aboriginal Land Grant (Jervis Bay Territory) Act 1986 (Cth) within the meaning of s 46 of the latter
  2. 2 To what extent the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (ACT) does not apply to Aboriginal Land for the purposes of s 46 of the Aboriginal Land Grant (Jervis Bay Territory) Act 1986 (Cth)

Ratio Decidendi

The Court held that, except to the extent that the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (ACT) prohibits subletting, there is no direct inconsistency or mutually exclusive operation between the Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (ACT) and the Aboriginal Land Grant (Jervis Bay Territory) Act 1986 (Cth). The Land Grant Act does not contain a complete and exhaustive code for the terms and conditions of leases and does not exclude the operation of general tenancy protections (such as maintenance obligations). Only those provisions which are incapable of concurrent operation—here, restraints on subletting—are inoperative. The appeal was allowed and the answers to the special case were given in accordance...

Court Disposition

Appeal allowed

Orders

  • Set aside the order in paragraph 2 of the Court of Appeal of the ACT Supreme Court made on 23 October 2017
  • In place thereof, order that the order in paragraph 1 of the ACT Supreme Court made on 25 August 2016 be set aside