Stewart v Secretary, Department Of Communities And Justice ABN 36433875185

STEWART
v
SECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITIES AND JUSTICE ABN 36433875185
[2024] HCASL 239
S65/2024

The applicant requires an extension of time within which to seek special leave to appeal from a decision of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales (Leeming JA and Griffiths A-JA; Stern JA dissenting) which allowed an appeal and overturned the decision of the Personal Injury Commission of New South Wales (Deputy President Wood). The application concerns the interpretation of r 8E(1)(b) of the Workers Compensation Regulation 2016 (NSW), a provision the meaning of which depends upon a legislative context unique to New South Wales. That regulation will sunset on 1 September 2024 under s 10 of the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989 (NSW).
In these circumstances the application does not raise an issue of sufficient general importance to warrant the grant of special leave to appeal. Accordingly, it would be futile to grant an extension of time.
Special leave to appeal is refused.
Gageler CJ
Gordon J
Edelman J
Steward J
Gleeson J
Jagot J
Beech-Jones J
5 September 2024

CaseChat Overview and Summary

The applicant in Stewart v Secretary, Department Of Communities And Justice sought an extension of time to apply for special leave to appeal a decision of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The original decision under appeal was made by the Personal Injury Commission of New South Wales. The central issue was the interpretation of r 8E(1)(b) of the Workers Compensation Regulation 2016 (NSW), which is a provision dependent on a legislative context specific to New South Wales. The regulation is set to expire on 1 September 2024 under the Subordinate Legislation Act 1989 (NSW).

The court needed to determine whether the application for special leave to appeal raised an issue of sufficient general importance to warrant the grant of special leave to appeal. Additionally, the court had to consider whether granting an extension of time would be futile given the impending sunset of the relevant regulation. The High Court examined the specific legislative context and the unique circumstances of the case, including the temporal limitation imposed by the sunset clause of the Subordinate Legislation Act.

Upon consideration, the High Court found that the application did not raise an issue of sufficient general importance to merit special leave to appeal. Furthermore, the court concluded that granting an extension of time would be futile, as the Workers Compensation Regulation 2016 (NSW) would no longer be in effect by the time the appeal could be heard. Consequently, the application for special leave to appeal was refused.

The final orders of the court were that special leave to appeal was refused, and no extension of time was granted for the application to be made.

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