Town and country planning - Responsible authority - Permits - Existing use rights - Brothel - Proposed extension - Legislative constraints on grant of permit - Locality prohibitions - Use prohibitions - Number of rooms - Whether prohibitions applicable to development of existing brothel - "Development" - "Use and development of land for the purposes of the operation of a brothel" - Prostitution Control Act 1994 (No 102) ss 4(b), 71, 74(1) - Planning and Environment Act 1987 (No 45) s 3.

Statutory interpretation - Literal meaning - Competing provisions - Consistency principle - Context - Objects clause.

Administrative law - Freedom of information - Exemptions - Cabinet documents - Consideration by Cabinet - Copy drafts and excerpts of Cabinet documents - Disclosure of Cabinet deliberations or decisions - Rationale of exemption - One agency instructing another agency to prepare reports - Reports having dual purposes - Use by instructing agency to advise its ministers - Use by instructing agency as raw material which might be submitted to Cabinet - Reporting agency instructed to mark reports Cabinet-in-confidence - Content of reports transposed and included in full or summary form in submission to Cabinet committee - Documents not exempt - "Deliberation" - Freedom of Information Act 1982 (No 9859) ss 3, 28(1)(b), 28(1)(c), 28(1)(d).

Administrative law - Judicial review - Non-discretionary disciplinary power - Procedural fairness - Content of obligation - Victoria Police - Chief Commissioner - Power to dismiss member - Assessment of member's integrity - Assessment of potential loss of community confidence in force if person were to remain member - Extent of Commissioner's disclosure obligation - Relevant considerations - Alleged improper purpose - Commissioner's onus of satisfaction - Availability of alternative disciplinary procedures - No evidence challenge - "May" - Police Regulation Act 1958 (No 6338) s 68.

Statutes - Interpretation - Principal Act - Amending Act - Interpretation of amending Act - Common law principle - Principal and amending Acts to be read together - Whether amending Act conferred discretion - Principal Act passed before Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 - Interpretation Act providing that statute using "may" to be interpreted as conferring discretion - Amending Act passed after 1984 Act - Whether common law principle or Interpretation Act direction applied - "May" - "Contrary intention" - Police Regulation Act 1958 (No 6338) s 68 - Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984 (No 10096) s 45.

Courts and judges - Criminal law and procedure - Jurisdiction - Inherent - Orders in nature of suppression orders - Orders necessary for fair trial of accused - Exigent circumstances - Threatened television broadcasts - Threatened internet dissemination - Orders purporting to bind every person in Victoria too wide - Availability of law of contempt of court - Supreme Court Act 1986 (No 110) s 17A(3), 17A(4).

Human rights - Criminal law - Trial - Fair trial - Indictable offence - Murder - Suppression orders - Pretrial publicity - Threatened television broadcasts - Dramatisation of recent events - Public interest.

Criminal law - Trial - Accused - Fitness to stand trial - Mental impairment - Investigation - Accused unlikely to become fit to stand trial within ensuing 12 months - Conduct of special hearing - Findings open to jury following special hearing - Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 (No 65) ss 11, 12, 15, 17.

Criminal law - Drugs - Trafficking - Commercial quantity - Pseudoephedrine - Quantity - "Quantity of pure drug" - Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances Act 1981 (No 9719) ss 4, 70, Sch 11, Pt 1 - Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cth) s 56

Statutes - Interpretation - Technical words - Inclusion in composite expression - Technical meaning - "Pure pseudoephedrine hydrochloride".

Statutes - Interpretation - Technical words - Drugs - Judicial notice - Statutory direction to be guided by British Pharmacopeia - Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 (Cth) s 56

Stamp duty - Transfer of dutiable property - Dutiable transaction - Real property - Contract of sale - Vendor trustee of discretionary trust - Purchaser trustee of unit trust - Land sold but not transferred - Shares in registered proprietor transferred to purchaser - Whether beneficial interest in land acquired by purchaser - Whether "transfer" of dutiable property - Whether "change of beneficial ownership" of dutiable property - Duties Act 2000 (No 79) ss 7, 10

Criminal law - Sexual offences - Sexual penetration of child under the age of 16 years - Consent alone not defence - Consent a defence if accompanied by specified additional circumstance - Reasonable belief complainant aged 16 years or older - Burden of proof - Amendment of statutory provision after commission of alleged offences - Jury instructed on basis of incorrect legislation - Miscarriage of justice - New trial ordered - Crimes Act 1958 (No 6231) s 45(4)(a)

Criminal law - Sexual offences - Incest - Elements of offence - Penetration - Indecent assault - Alleged offences occurring three decades before trial - Accused asserting complainants had concocted allegations - Whether alternative verdict of attempted incest should have been left to jury - No latent duplicity in indecent assault count - Relationship evidence - Similar fact evidence - Cross-admissibility - Evidence of uncharged acts - Adequacy of jury warning against propensity reasoning - Recent complaint - Directions on collusion or concoction - Whether severance of counts necessary - Whether charge unbalanced - Direction on good character not required - Adequacy of Kilby and Longman warnings - "Unlawful carnal knowledge" - Crimes Act 1958 (No 6231) ss 52(1), 61, 372(3), 372(3AA), 372(3AB), 398A, Sch 6, r 2.

Criminal law - Sentencing - Principles - Uncharged offences - Permissible use for sentencing purposes - Manslaughter - Child - Unlawful and dangerous act - Guilty plea - No prior admission by accused of killing child - Accused also admitting other assaults on child - Director's appeal - Offender's earlier trial for murder of child - Jury unable to agree - Contextual significance - Sentence of 12 years and six months' imprisonment not manifestly inadequate.

Criminal law - Terrorism-related offences - Appeal - Convictions quashed and retrial ordered - Application to rescind order for retrial - Whether order based on misapprehension of facts - Television interview of accused broadcast after trial - Evidence of alleged admissions - Whether evidence unknown and unknowable at time of trial - Matters known by Australian Security Intelligence Organisation - Whether known to or capable of being ascertained by Australian Federal Police or Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions - Co-operation between Commonwealth agencies - Whether joint prosecution - Australian Security Intelligence Organisation Act 1979 (Cth) ss 17(1), 18(2), 18(3)(a)

Mortgages - Mortgagee - Power of sale - Duties - Good faith - Best price consistent with entitlement to security - No advertising - Private sale to sitting tenant - Interests of mortgagor - Whether proper price obtained - Transfer of Land Act 1958 (No 6399) s 77(1), 77(2)

Real property - Registrar of Titles - Immunity for bona fide conduct - Refusal to accept caveat for lodgment - Transfer of Land Act 1958 (No 6399) s 117

Real property - Caveats - Equity to have mortgagee's sale set aside - Not caveatable interest - Transfer of Land Act 1958 (No 6399) s 89(1)

Contempt of court - Sub judice contempt - Fair trial - Interference with administration of justice - Prejudicial pre-trial publicity - Defences - Fair and accurate report of court proceedings - Committal proceeding - Murder - Accused person not committed for trial - Director of Public Prosecutions announcing proposed direct presentment - Newspaper articles - Reference to accused's convictions for earlier murders - Not fair and accurate report of committal - Accused's continuing notoriety - Prejudicial tendency - Practical reality test.

Human rights - Fair trial - Criminal trial - Murder - Prejudicial pre-trial publicity - Newspaper articles - Contempt of court - Defences - Practical reality test - Reference to accused's convictions for earlier murders.

Criminal law - Murder - Conviction of person executed in 1922 - Prerogative of mercy - Petition - Question arising in Attorney-General's consideration of petition - Attorney-General's reference for opinion of judges of trial division - Whether miscarriage of justice in conviction - Criteria - Availability of posthumous pardon - Evidence not available at trial - Forensic evidence - Character evidence concerning prosecution witness - Crimes Act 1958 (No 6231) s 584(b)

Contract - Construction - Ambiguity - Private loan agreement - Interest - Entitlement - Compound or simple interest - Not necessary to consider implying term - Regard to be paid to surrounding circumstances - Parol evidence rule - Scope - Pre-existing personal and professional relationship of parties - Lender assisting borrowers in necessitous circumstances - Agreement referring to repayment of loan and accrued interest at rate charged by bank - Compound interest intended.

Criminal law - Sentencing - Instinctive synthesis approach - Mitigation - Discount factors - Murder - Guilty plea - Effect on sentence - 2008 legislative reform - Sentencing judge required to state sentence that would have been imposed but for guilty plea - Hypothetical quantification - Application of hypothesis impossible - Sentencing Act 1991 (No 49) ss 6(1)(e) 6AAA.

Administrative law - Judicial review - Procedural fairness - Bias - Pre-judgment - Step in decision-making process - Amenability to review - Discretion - Town planning - Municipal council decision - Final decision in process made by minister - Councillor's vote determinative of resolutions - Potential effect on landowner's legal rights or liabilities - Planning and Environment Act 1987 (No 45) ss 21 22 24 27 29 31 35 39

Local government - Councillors - Conflict of interest - Proposed planning scheme amendment - Submission by councillor in personal capacity - Referral to statutory panel - Councillor declaring interest and not participating in referral decision - Councillor making submissions to panel - Panel report - Council consideration of opposing resolutions regarding report - Councillor voting on resolutions - Validity of resolutions - "Interest" - "Of the opinion" - Local Government Act 1989 (No 11) ss 77A(2) 77B 79

Tort - Negligence - Personal injury - Breach of duty - Risk calculus - Causation - Schoolyard accident - Student attempting to lift heavy drainage grille - Claim based on failure to supervise students failing - Claim based on failure to warn of hazard succeeding - Reasonableness of school's response to foreseeable hazard - Causation - Efficacy of proposed warning not considered.

Appeal - Magistrates' Court - Appeal to Supreme Court on question of law - Challenge to factual determinations - Common law negligence - Failure to consider relevant matters - No evidence ground - Test - Case remitted for further hearing - "Question of law" - Magistrates' Court Act 1989 (No 51) s 109

Contract - Interpretation - Plain and ordinary meaning - Express terms - Reasonable observer test - Whether breach established.

Damages - Breach of contract - Measure of damages - Exclusion clause - Supplier excluding liability for consequential loss - Commercial and legal usage - Supply and installation of odour emission control system - System failing to eliminate odours - Purchase and installation costs - Labour costs - "Liquidated damages or consequential loss".

Trade practices - Misleading or deceptive conduct - Remedies - Limitation period - Commencement - Ascertainment - Machinery purchase induced by misleading conduct - Time running from when defective operation first detected - Trade Practices Act 1974 (Cth) s 82

Administrative law - Judicial review - Jurisdiction - Legal Practice Board - Solicitor - Practising certificate - Renewal - Refusal - Board satisfied solicitor not fit and proper person - Statutory maximum period for disposing of renewal application - Delay in making decision - Whether decision void - "Until the application has been finally determined" - Legal Profession Act 2004 (No 99) ss 2.4.5(3), 2.4.12(2)

Administrative law - Judicial review - Remedies - Discretion to refuse - Adequate alternative remedy - Merits review - Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal - Pending application - Nature and scope - Alleged lack of natural justice by decision maker - Judicial review not precluded by availability of merits review.

Administrative law - Judicial review - Error of law - Relevant considerations - Failure to take into account - Gambling regulation - Electronic gaming machines - Approval of premises - Hotel - Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal - Review of decision of Victorian Commission for Gambling Regulation - Commission refusing approval - Statutory no net detriment test - Commission's duty to inquire - Public participation in primary decision-making - Survey evidence of local community opposition to approval - Tribunal setting decision aside and granting approval - Tribunal failing to take community opposition into account - "Net economic and social impact of approval" - "Detrimental to the wellbeing of the community" - Gambling Regulation Act 2003 (No 114) s 3.3.7.

Administrative law - Merits review - Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal - Primary decision-maker - Misapprehension of role - Entitlement to support own decision - Participation in tribunal review - Obligations - Duty to assist in review proceedings - Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 (No 53) ss 49(1) 59

Accident compensation - Workers compensation - Injury arising out of or in the course of employment - Serious injury - Common law damages entitlement - Procedural restrictions enacted in 2000 - Whether restrictions applicable to whistleblower's statutory reprisal action against employer - Accident Compensation Act 1985 (No 10191) s 134AB - Whistleblowers Protection Act 2001 (No 36) s 19

Tort - Whistleblowers protection - Protected notification - Detrimental action - Employer and employee - Alleged reprisal - Statutory reprisal action against employer and fellow employee - Whistleblowers Protection Act 2001 (No 36) s 19

Contract - Construction - Mining engineering contracts - Benefit of a contract - Successive contracts - Provision for novation or assignment - Whether proprietary right to performance of earlier contract.

Conflict of laws - Contribution - Choice of law - Whether liability of wrongdoers to contribute in respect of same damage to be determined by law of the forum - Whether common law choice of law rules applied - Wrongs Act 1958 (No 6420) ss 23B(1) 23B(6) 24(2A)

Trust and trustees - Express trust - Creation - Intention to create trust - Whether trust of a promise.

Confidential information - Government information - Inadvertent disclosure - Correctional system - Information concerning prisoners - Information concerning prison management and security - Documents mislaid - Documents innocently obtained by media organisation - Recipient notifying intended publication of some information - Whether confidential character lost - Right to restrain publication - Public interest - Competing considerations - Free public discussion of government action - Prisoner's medical records - Allegations of misconduct or maladministration - Prison security and administration.

Injunction - Terms - Confidential information - Inadvertent disclosure - Media organisation notifying wish to publish - Publication of some information permitted in redacted form - Undertaking - Order for delivery up of copies and notes.

Contract - Regulated loan contracts - Consumer credit - Truth in lending - Sale of land - Mortgage wrapping business - Vendor's terms contract - Vendor financing own land acquisitions by bank mortgage loans - On-sales - Purchaser agreeing to fulfil vendor's obligations to bank - Vendor agreeing to apply purchaser's instalments in reduction of bank loan - Whether vendor a credit provider - Characterisation of legal obligations - Contractual deferment of payment of debt - Incurring of deferred debt - Civil penalty proceeding - "Credit" - "Under a contract" - "Incurs" - "Deferred" - "Debt" - Consumer Credit Act 1995 (No 41) ss 1 5 - Consumer Credit (Victoria) Code s 4(1)(a) 4(1)(b) 4(2) 4(5) 4(6) 4(8) 4(10) 4(11) 4(12) Sch 1 - Sale of Land Act 1962 (No 6975) ss 2 3 6.

Practice and procedure - Discovery - Production and inspection - Public interest immunity - Administration of justice - Whether balancing process called for - Categories of public interest - Demonstrable necessity test - No discrete public order category - Maintenance of prison security - Long-term prisoner - Claim for damages - Personal injuries - Negligence - Alleged negligent failure to prevent attack by other prisoners - Schematic diagram of prison high-security unit - Security report into alleged assault - Prior publication of part of contents of report - Judge ordering production on limited access terms - Decision to disallow claim for immunity not discretionary.

Equity - Estoppel - Proprietary estoppel - Unconscientious conduct - Expectation - Promise to transfer interest in land on marriage of promisee to promisors' son - Reliance - Detriment - Promisee entering into marriage, giving up paid employment and having child - Assumption that marriage would endure - Marriage ending in divorce - Promise not honoured - Whether binding - Semi-rural property on outskirts of Melbourne - Property sold to land developer at considerable profit - Relief - Minimum equity necessary to do justice - Ascertainment - Making good the expectation - Whether order for payment of proportion of sale price disproportionate to detriment - Effect on promisors' family.

Administration and probate - Testator's family maintenance - Widow's claim - Compromise - Enforceability - Conditions subsequent - Conditional on Attorney-General not opposing and on making of consent orders - Death of claimant before conditions satisfied - Attorney-General indicating non-opposition to compromise - Whether Attorney-General's decision invalid and nullity - Whether consent order could be made - Administration and Probate Act 1958 (No 6191) Pt IV

Administration and probate - Survival of actions - Testator's family maintenance - Death of claimant before compromise unconditional.

Judgments, orders and declarations - Consent order - Discretion to refuse.

Costs - Administration and probate - Novel point - Attorney-General intervening - Whether costs to be paid out of estate.

Legal practitioners - Solicitors - Complaint - Characterisation - Disciplinary complaint - Validity - Legal Services Commissioner - Complaint made to Law Institute of Victoria - Institute referring complaint to commissioner - Delegate of commissioner referring complaint back to institute for investigation - Delegation effective - Legal Profession Act 2004 (No 99) ss 4.2.5 4.2.8 4.4.7 4.4.9 6.3.12 6.4.1

Legal practitioners - Solicitors - Disciplinary complaint - Notification of complaint to practitioner - Validity - Provision of copy complaint effective - Legal Profession Act 2004 (No 99) s 4.2.8

Legal practitioners - Solicitors - Disciplinary complaint - Discretion to investigate complaint - Wednesbury test applicable - Legal Profession Act 2004 (No 99) ss 4.4.7 4.4.9

Administrative law - Judicial review - Remedies - Certiorari - Availability - Decision affecting legal rights - Legal Services Commissioner - Decision referring complaint to investigatory body - Procedural fairness - Characterisation of complaint as disciplinary - Procedural or substantive - Right to be heard prior to referral.

Administrative law - Procedural fairness - Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal - Whether tribunal entitled to act on own motion - Reliance on case not raised by applicant for summary relief - Applicant's right to be informed - Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 (No 53) ss 75 98(1)(a).

Administrative law - Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal - Summary dismissal power - Two legislative sources - Availability of one procedure not precluding availability of other - Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 (No 53) - Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (No 42) s 109.

Administrative law - Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal - Whether denial of natural justice is an error of law for purposes of an appeal - Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 1998 (No 53) s 148.

Discrimination - Impairment discrimination - Litigant - High frequency deafness - Court staff refusing request for supply of equipment to facilitate hearing of court proceeding - "Services" - Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (No 42) ss 4(1) 102 - Magistrates' Court Act 1989 (No 51) s 24.

Constitutional law - Judiciary - Immunity - Magistrates' Court - Litigant - Hearing impairment - Court staff refusing request to supply equipment for court hearing - Impairment discrimination - Whether Magistrates' Court registry staff immune from liability - Whether State of Victoria vicariously or directly liable if contravention by registry staff.

Criminal law - Confiscation of property - Drug offences - Restrained property - Exclusion order - Application - Time limit - Automatic forfeiture following conviction - Ascertainment of date of conviction - Test - Requirement for conduct unequivocally indicating that accused had been convicted - Accused pleading guilty - Plea hearing adjourned - Bail extended - Accused not remanded in custody until after completion of later plea hearing - Conviction not recorded until after sentence - "Conviction" - Confiscation Act 1997 (No 108) ss 20 35.

Landlord and tenant - Lease - Interpretation - Rent review clause - Surrounding circumstances - Office premises - Expert valuer's determination - Validity - Rent incentives - Comparable premises - Face rent - Effective rent - "Current annual market rental" - "Current annual market rental value" - Terms not used synonymously.