Northern Land Council v Quall

• Jurisdiction: Australia Federal only
• Judgment Date: 20 May 2019
• Neutral Citation: [2019] FCAFC 77
• Date: 20 May 2019
• Court: Federal Court

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Northern Land Council v Quall [2019] FCAFC 77

Appeal from:	Quall v Northern Land Council [2018] FCA 989
File number:	NTD 30 of 2018
Judges:	GRIFFITHS, MORTIMER AND WHITE JJ
Date of judgment:	20 May 2019
Catchwords:	ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – delegation of statutory functions and powers – distinction between authorisation and delegation – the Carltona principle – principles for determining whether a power or function is delegable – effect of delegation ; NATIVE TITLE – whether a representative body under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) is able to delegate its power and function to certify an application for an area Indigenous Land Use Agreement (ILUA) under s 201BE(1)(b) – the process and alternative pathways for registration of an area ILUA – position of representative bodies under the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) – importance of representative body’s duty to promote and protect broad community interests of Aboriginal people who hold or may hold native title and not merely sectional interests – certification function under s 201BE(1)(b) is not delegable ; STATUTORY INTERPRETATION – interpretation of “necessary and convenient” powers such as s 201BK of the Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) – such powers strictly ancillary and supplementary to other functions conferred on the statutory repository – scope and operation of a “necessary and convenient” power in a particular context depends on the primary power or function being supplemented
Legislation:	Aboriginal Land Rights Act 1983 (NSW) ss 36, 243 Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976 (Cth) ss 4, 21, 21C, 22, 23, 28, 29 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Preservation Act 1984 (Cth) s 31 Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth) ss 13, 34A, 34AB Australian Securities Commission Act 1989 (Cth) ss 11, 102 Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority Act 2006 (Cth) s 20 Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) Corporations Law (NSW) s 597 Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) s 27 Native Title Act 1993 (Cth) ss 24AA, 24AB, 24CA, 24CB, 24CD, 24CE, 24CG, 24CH, 24CL, 24CI, 24CJ, 24CK, 24CL, 24EA, 24EB, 190C, s 199C, 201A, 201B, 202, 203AA, 203AB, 203AD, 203AI, 203B, 203BA, 203BB, 203BD, 203BE, 203BG, 203BH, 203BI, 203BJ, 203BK, 227, 233, 251A, 251B Native Title Amendment Act 1998 (Cth) Native Title Amendment Act 2007 (Cth) Social Services Act 1947 (Cth) ss 12, 14 Housing Act 1980 (UK) s 33
Cases cited:	Anthony Horden & Sons Ltd v Amalgamated Clothing and Allied Trades Union of Australia (1932) 47 CLR 1 Anthony Lagoon Station Pty Ltd v Aboriginal Land Commissioner (1987) 15 FCR 565 Bayly v Municipal Council of Sydney (1927) 28 SR (NSW) 149 Blackpool Corporation v Locker [1948] 1 KB 349 Byrnes v R (1999) 199 CLR 1 Carltona Ltd v Commissioner of Works [1943] 2 All ER 560 Edwards v Santos Limited [2011] HCA 8; 242 CLR 421 Ellis v Central Land Council [2019] FCAFC 1 Ex parte Forster; Re University of Sydney [1963] SR (NSW) 723 George Wimpey & Co Ltd v British Overseas Airways Corp [1955] AC 169 Hird v Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority [2015] FCAFC 7; 227 FCR 95 Kuru v State of New South Wales [2008] HCA 26; 236 CLR 1 Mercantile Mutual Life Insurance Co Limited v Australian Securities Commission (1993) 40 FCR 409 Minister for Aboriginal Affairs v Peko-Wallsend Ltd (1986) 162 CLR 24 New South Wales Aboriginal Land Council v Minister Administering the Crown Lands Act (the Nelson Bay Claim) [2014] NSWCA 377; 88 NSWLR 125 O’Reilly v The Commissioners of the State Bank of Victoria (1983) 153 CLR 1 Pilbara Aboriginal Land Council Aboriginal Corporation Inc v Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs [2000] FCA 1113; 103 FCR 539 Plaintiff S4/2014 v Commonwealth [2014] HCA 34; (2014) 253 CLR 219 Project Blue Sky Inc v Australian Broadcasting Authority [1998] HCA 28; 194 CLR 355 Quall v Northern Land Council [2018] FCA 989 R v Skinner [1968] 2 QB 700 Reference under Section 11 of Ombudsman Act 1976 for an Advisory Opinion, Ex parte Director-General of Social Services [1979] AATA 34; 2 ALD 86 Shanahan v Scott (1957) 96 CLR 245 Tickner v Chapman (1995) 57 FCR 451 Wansbeck District Council v Charlton (1981) 79 LGR 523 ; J C Altman and D E Smith in Review of Native Title Representative Bodies (1995, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission) Aronson, Groves and Weeks, Judicial Review of Administrative Action and Government Liability (6th ed, Lawbook Co, 2017) at [6.130] Richard H Bartlett, Native Title in Australia (3rd ed, LexisNexis Butterworths, 2015) [34.8] Melissa Perry and Stephen Lloyd, Australian Native Title Law (2nd ed, 2018, Lawbook Co) at [11.20] Professor John Willis, “Delegatus Non Potest Delegare” (1943) 21 The Canadian Bar Review 257
Date of hearing:	21 February 2019
Registry:	Northern Territory
Division:	General Division
National Practice Area:	Native Title
Category:	Catchwords
Number of paragraphs:	156
Counsel for the Appellants:	Mr P G Willis SC
Solicitor for the Appellants:	Legal Branch, Northern Land Council
Counsel for the Respondents:	Mr A Tokley SC with Mr P McIntyre
Solicitor for the Respondents:	Robert Welfare & Associates
Counsel for the Intervener:	Ms S Brownhill SC with Mr L Peattie
Solicitor for the Intervener:	Solicitor for the Northern Territory

ORDERS

		NTD 30 of 2018
BETWEEN:	NORTHERN LAND COUNCIL First Appellant ; JOE MORRISON AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE NORTHERN LAND COUNCIL Second Appellant
AND:	KEVIN LANCE QUALL First Respondent ; ERIC FEJO Second Respondent
AND BETWEEN:	KEVIN LANCE QUALL (and another named in the Schedule) First Cross-Appellant

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