A recent customer query got the ever-curious FirstPoint team interested in finding out what Australian cases are the most-cited cases on FirstPoint. So, with the help of our amazing database experts, we recently compiled a list of FirstPoint’s most-cited cases, to satisfy our curious minds. And, because we hope at least one other person out there is as interested as we are, we thought we’d share some of the highlights.

In compiling this list, we looked for the cases with the most FirstPoint verified cases citing. The FirstPoint verified case relationships are the case relationships identified as significant by our FirstPoint Legal Editors as they read a judgment. Not every case cited in a judgment warrants inclusion as a FirstPoint verified case cited.

At the top of the list, perhaps rather unsurprisingly, is House v The King (1936) 55 CLR 499, which has been significantly cited by over 1,200 later judgments. House v The King is by far the most-cited case on FirstPoint, having about 50% more cases citing than the second-placed Project Blue Sky Inc v Australian Broadcasting Authority (1998) 194 CLR 355.

The top ten positions are occupied by High Court decisions. Goode v Goode (2006) 206 FLR 212, a decision of Full Court of the Family Court, is the most-cited decision that does not come from either the High Court or Privy Council. Colgate-Palmolive Co v Cussons Pty Ltd (1993) 46 FCR 225 is the most-cited Federal Court decision, while R v Thomson (2000) 49 NSWLR 383 is the most-cited State or Territory court decision.

NAHI v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs [2004] FCAFC 10 is the most-cited unreported decision, coming in at number 173 on the list, followed by Yang v Scerri [2007] NSWLEC 592 and Barker v Kyriakides [2007] NSWLEC 292.

The list also features a number of bolters — relatively recent decisions that have shot up the rankings at breakneck speed. One such bolter is Aon Risk Services Australia Ltd v Australian National University (2009) 239 CLR 175, which has been significantly cited by nearly 550 later decisions in fewer than six years. Also featuring on the list of bolters is Muldrock v The Queen (2011) 244 CLR 120, which, in not even four years, has been significantly cited by nearly 250 later decisions.

The top 25 cases on the list are shown below. Click on the case name to be taken through to the FirstPoint record for these influential decisions, or click on the report citation to read the reported version (subject to your Westlaw AU subscriptions, of course!).

Top 25 Most-Cited Decisions on FirstPoint (as at 9 June 2015)

1. House v The King (1936) 55 CLR 499
2. Project Blue Sky Inc v Australian Broadcasting Authority (1998) 194 CLR 355
3. M v The Queen (1994) 181 CLR 487
4. General Steel Industries Inc v Commissioner for Railways (1964) 112 CLR 125
5. Jones v Dunkel (1959) 101 CLR 298
6. Briginshaw v Briginshaw (1938) 60 CLR 336
7. Codelfa Construction Pty Ltd v State Rail Authority (NSW) (1982) 149 CLR 337
8. Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs v Wu Shan Liang (1996) 185 CLR 259
9. Kioa v West (1985) 159 CLR 550
10. Singer v Berghouse (1994) 181 CLR 201
11. BP Refinery (Westernport) Pty Ltd v Shire of Hastings (1977) 180 CLR 266
12. Craig v South Australia (1995) 184 CLR 163
13. Pearce v The Queen (1998) 194 CLR 610
14. Fox v Percy (2003) 214 CLR 118
15. Aon Risk Services Australia Ltd v Australian National University (2009) 239 CLR 175
16. Plaintiff S157/2002 v Commonwealth (2003) 211 CLR 476
17. Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs v Yusuf (2001) 206 CLR 323
18. Australian Broadcasting Tribunal v Bond (1990) 170 CLR 321
19. Chan Yee Kin v Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (1989) 169 CLR 379
20. Goode v Goode (2006) 206 FLR 212
21. Minister for Aboriginal Affairs v Peko-Wallsend Ltd (1986) 162 CLR 24
22. Colgate-Palmolive Co v Cussons Pty Ltd (1993) 46 FCR 225
23. Wyong Shire Council v Shirt (1980) 146 CLR 40
24. Port of Melbourne Authority v Anshun Pty Ltd (1981) 147 CLR 589
25. Ebner v Official Trustee in Bankruptcy (2000) 205 CLR 337