Administrative law (Cth) – Judicial review – Archives – Access to records – Where Governor-General engaged in correspondence with Her Majesty the Queen – Where correspondence described as personal and confidential – Where Official Secretary to Governor-General kept correspondence and made arrangement to deposit correspondence with predecessor organisation to National Archives of Australia ("Archives") – Where correspondence deposited by Official Secretary on instructions of former Governor-General after his retirement – Where Archives Act 1983 (Cth) subsequently enacted – Where s 31 of Archives Act provides that Commonwealth records within care of Archives must be made available for public access when within "open access period" – Where s 3(1) defines "Commonwealth record" as including "record that is the property of the Commonwealth or of a Commonwealth institution" – Where "Commonwealth institution" defined as including "the official establishment of the Governor-General" – Whether correspondence property of Commonwealth or of official establishment of Governor-General – Whether "property" within context of Archives Act connoted relationship involving holding of rights corresponding to ownership or possession at common law or connoted existence of legally endorsed concentration of power to control custody of record.

Words and phrases – "administration", "archival resources of the Commonwealth", "Archives", "body politic", "care and management", "Commonwealth institution", "Commonwealth record", "comprehensive expression", "convention", "correspondence", "created or received officially and kept institutionally", "Crown in right of the Commonwealth", "custody", "functional unit of government", "Governor-General", "kept by reason of", "lawful power of control", "legally endorsed concentration of power", "management", "official establishment of the Governor-General", "Official Secretary", "ownership", "personal and confidential", "personal records", "possession", "private and confidential", "property", "property of the Commonwealth or of a Commonwealth institution", "public access", "record", "right to exclude others", "the Commonwealth".

Constitution – covering cll 3, 4, s 2, Ch II.

Archives Act 1983 (Cth) – ss 2A, 3, 3C, 5, 6, 62, 64, 70, Pt V.

Governor –General Act 1974 (Cth), s 6.

High Court – Original jurisdiction – Applications for constitutional or other writ – Determination without hearing – Abuse of process – Where plaintiff seeks orders inter alia to quash orders of superior court of record dismissing appeal from judgment dismissing application for judicial review of decision of administrative tribunal affirming decision by delegate of defendant Minister – Where plaintiff has not applied for special leave to appeal or provided explanation for departure from ordinary appellate process – Whether application is an abuse of process.

Migration – Visas – Skilled visas – Criteria for grant – Proof of skills – Where primary criteria to be satisfied for grant of visa include that application be accompanied by evidence that applicant had applied for assessment of skills for nominated skilled occupation by relevant assessing authority – Where visa applicant had failed skills assessment and not applied for subsequent skills assessment at time of submitting application – Whether evidence provided to defendant Minister after that time relevant to satisfaction of criterion.

Words and phrases – "abuse of process", "accompanied by", "constitutional writs", "determination without oral hearing", "discretion to refuse relief", "extraordinary relief", "less convenient, beneficial and effective", "ordinary appellate process", "original jurisdiction", "skills assessment", "unnecessary recourse".

Constitution – s 75(v).

Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) – Sch 2, cl 485. 223.

Damages – Consumer guarantees – Personal injury – Where appellant booked holiday cruise tour supplied by respondent – Where holiday cruise tour severely disrupted by adverse weather conditions – Where respondent breached consumer guarantees in ss 60 and 61 of Australian Consumer Law ("ACL") – Where appellant claimed damages for disappointment and distress – Where s 275 of ACL provided that where failure to comply with consumer guarantee that applies to supply of services and State law proper law of contract, that law applies to limit or preclude liability for failure and recovery of liability as it would for breach of contract – Where New South Wales proper law of contract – Where s 16(1) of Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) ("CLA") precluded damages for non-economic loss in relation to personal injury cases unless non-economic loss at least 15% of most extreme case – Where threshold in s 16(1) not reached – Whether s 275 of ACL picked up and applied s 16 of CLA as surrogate federal law – Whether s 16 of CLA applied to preclude damages for disappointment and distress not consequential upon physical or psychiatric injury.

Words and phrases – "breach of contract", "damages", "disappointment and distress", "enjoyment", "head of loss", "holiday cases", "impairment of a person's physical or mental condition", "loss of amenities of life", "non-economic loss", "pain and suffering", "peace of mind", "personal injury", "quantification of damages", "recovery", "recovery of that liability", "recreation", "surrogate federal law".

Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) – Sch 2, ss 60, 61, 267, 275.

Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) – ss 3, 11, 11A, 16.

Criminal practice – Accusatorial system of criminal justice – Companion rule – Where subpoena issued for employee to attend to give evidence at coronial inquest into manner and cause of another employee's death – Where employer and Commonwealth of Australia prosecuted for alleged failures to comply with duty to ensure worker health and safety – Where s 87(1)(b) of Evidence Act 2011 (ACT) relevantly entailed that representation by employee of party relating to matter within scope of employment taken as admission by that party – Whether invocation of investigative power to compel employee to give evidence about matter with respect to which employer stands charged amounts to compelling employer to give evidence contrary to rule that accused not required to assist Crown in proving its case.

High Court – Appellate jurisdiction – Practice – Extension of time – Where first respondent sought leave to file notice of contention out of time alleging that compulsion of its employee to give evidence at coronial inquest would constitute contempt of court in parallel criminal proceedings by creating real risk of interference with justice according to law – Where criminal proceedings concluded and first respondent acquitted of offences – Whether extension of time should be granted to resolve question of whether compulsory examination of potential witness other than accused can amount to contempt of court.

Words and phrases – "accusatorial system of criminal justice", "admissions made with authority", "attribution", "companion rule", "compulsory investigative powers", "compulsory pre-trial examination", "contempt of court", "coronial inquest", "extension of time", "hypothetical circumstances", "practical reality", "real risk of improper interference with criminal proceedings".

Coroners Act 1997 (ACT) – ss 36, 43, 58(6).

Evidence Act 2011 (ACT) – s 87(1)(b).