Re the Residential Tenancies Tribunal of New South Wales and Henderson; Ex Parte Defence Housing Authority (1997) 190 Clr 410: States' Power to Bind the Commonwealth
| Author | Mark Gladman |
| Published date | 01 March 1999 |
| Date | 01 March 1999 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.22145/flr.27.1.7 |
| Subject Matter | Comment |
COMMENT
RE THE
RESIDENTIAL
TENANCIES
TRIBUNAL
OF
NEW
SOUTH
WALES
AND
HENDERSON; EX
PARTE
DEFENCE
HOUSING
AUTHORITY
(1997) 190 CLR 410: STATES' POWER
TO
BIND
THE
COMMONWEALTH
*
Mark
Gladman
INTRODUCTION
The
power
of the Commonwealth
and
the States to
bind
each other raises
fundamental
issues concerning the
nature
of federalism
in
Australia.
In
Re
The
Residential
Tenancies
Tribunal of
New
South
Wales
and
Henderson;
Ex
parte
Defence
Housing Authority
(Henderson),l the
High
Court
was required to consider the extent to which a
Commonwealth
statutory body, the Defence
Housing
Authority,
may
be
subject to
State residential tenancy law. The
High
Court's decision
in
Henderson
appears
to
expand
the States'
power
to
bind
the Commonwealth, however, the precise scope
of
the
power
remains uncertain. The
purpose
of this
comment
is to assess,
in
light of
Henderson,
the extent to which the States can
bind
the Commonwealth.
THE
HENDERSON
CASE
Henderson
arose
out
of adispute between the owners of aresidential
property
and
the
Defence
Housing
Authority (DHA) which
had
leased
that
property. The
owners
of the
property
sought
orders from the
New
South Wales Residential Tenancies Tribunal
under
the Residential Tenancies Act 1987 (NSW) allowing
them
to enter the premises
for the
purposes
of
an
inspection
and
requiring the
DHA
to give
them
akey to the
premises.
The
DHA
disputed
the jurisdiction of the Tribunal. The
High
Court,
by
a
1
Director,
Research
and
Information,
Immigration
Review
Tribunal.
The
views
expressed
in
this
comment
are
personal
to
the
author.
(1997)
190
CLR
410.
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