Kelly v Minister for the Environment and Water

Federal Court of Australia, 28 March 2025
[2025] FCA 264, (2025) 309 FCR 256, (2025) 262 LGERA 302

• Administrative Law — Aboriginal heritage — Where Aboriginal groups were entitled to seek preservation or protection of specified objects from injury or desecration — Where statute empowered Minister to make declaration to preserve or protect significant Aboriginal objects from injury or desecration — Whether statutory power permitted Minister to make a declaration for consultation to occur in order to determine whether an action would be inconsistent with Aboriginal tradition — Consideration of the meaning of ‘injury’, ‘desecration’, and ‘Aboriginal tradition’ — Whether injury or desecration was required to be inevitable or a certainty before power to make a declaration was enlivened — Whether interpretation section of statute was definitional or substantive in nature — Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection Act 1984 (Cth), ss 3(1), 3(2), 3(3), 12

HBSY Pty Ltd v Lewis (No 2)

Federal Court of Australia Full Court, 3 April 2025
[2025] FCAFC 44, (2025) 309 FCR 232

• Bankruptcy — Discharge from — Where beneficiary of deceased estate misappropriated estate funds and therefore owed debt to estate — Where beneficiary became bankrupt and discharged without repayment of debt to estate — Whether discharge from bankruptcy allowed beneficiary to receive share of estate without repaying debt to estate — Whether discharge extinguished equitable principles allowing administrator to treat the beneficiary as having received share in estate — Whether misappropriation involved fraudulent breach of trust such that debt to estate survived discharge from bankruptcy — Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth), s 153

Merchant v Federal Commissioner of Taxation

Federal Court of Australia Full Court, 22 April 2025
[2025] FCAFC 56, (2025) 309 FCR 144

• Taxation — Income tax — Avoidance — Scheme — Whether a determination was required as to the actual subjective purpose of the scheme participants — Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 (Cth), Pt IVA, ss 177D, 177D(2)