Workers compensation — Interpretation — Meaning of ‘compensation’ in s 326 of the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic) — Whether compensation under section confined to compensation under that Act or extended to compensation under any statutory workers’ compensation regime in any jurisdiction — Accident Compensation Act 1985 (Vic), ss 80, 82(1), 82(6) and 134AB(1) — Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic), ss 37, 39(1), 39(3) and 326

Landlord and tenant — Residential tenancy — Subtenancy — Recovery of possession — Rental providers’ application for possession of rented premises — Premises subject to subtenancy — Renter served with notice to vacate — No notice to vacate served on subtenants — Subtenants notified of proceeding — Order for possession granted on basis of notice — Whether jurisdiction to make order for possession against subtenants properly invoked — Residential Tenancies Act 1997 (Vic), ss 91R, 91ZZB, 91ZZJ, 334

Companies — Whistleblower — Protections under pt 9.4AAA of Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) — Detrimental conduct against person making or able to make protected disclosure — Suspicion or belief that employee had made protected disclosure — Employer engaged in detrimental conduct by threat to terminate employment — Test for liability — Whether person who made threat of termination suspected or believed that the plaintiff made, may have made, proposed to make or could make a qualifying disclosure — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), pt 9.4AAA, ss 1317AA, 1317AD, 1317AE

Wills and estates — Probate — Revocation — Application by co-executor for revocation of grant of probate to other executor — Whether conduct subsequent to grant of probate could be grounds for revocation — Whether revocation of probate warranted

Mortgages — Equity of redemption — Where mortgagor proposes to pay judgment sum but not further amounts claimed by mortgagee — Whether mortgagor entitled to order that mortgagee execute discharge of mortgage

Practice and procedure — Application for stay of execution of judgment for possession and judgment debt, pending refinance — Refinance conditional upon discharge of mortgage — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2025 (Vic), r 66.16

Criminal law — Appeal — Sentence — Offender aged 17 or 18 at time of offence — For purpose of sentencing, judge treated offender as a child aged 17 at time of offending — Whether appropriate to sentence offender as an adult for offence committed as a child — Whether weight to be given to general deterrence and denunciation in sentencing adult for offences committed when a child — Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic), s 5(1) — Children Youth & Families Act 2005 (Vic), s 362(1)

Planning and environment — Planning Scheme — Precinct Structure Plan — Development to be ‘generally in accordance’ with plan — Land designated in plan as site for ‘potential government school’ — Whether alternative use permitted

Words and phrases — ‘potential’ — ‘generally in accordance with’

Criminal law — Interlocutory appeal — Application for review of refusal of trial judge to certify interlocutory decision — Evidence — Admissibility — Complainant’s sexual history — Trial judge excluded evidence — Refusal to certify interlocutory decision — Whether error in refusal — Whether admissibility of complainant’s sexual history evidence matter which ‘concerns the admissibility of evidence’ — Whether such evidence, if ruled inadmissible, ‘would eliminate or substantially weaken the prosecution case’ — Whether error in refusal to certify — Whether application for leave to appeal competent — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), ss 295, 296, 297, 342, 349

Words and phrases — ‘concerns the admissibility of evidence’

Criminal law — Fitness to stand trial — Finding of permanent unfitness — Non-compliance with three-month time limit to hold special hearing into fitness — Whether delayed special hearing invalid — Whether fresh indictment required new finding of unfitness — Whether permanent stay justified — Crimes (Mental Impairment and Unfitness to be Tried) Act 1997 (Vic), ss 6, 9, 14F

Bankruptcy — Standing — Discharged bankrupt bringing proceedings — Cause of action a chose in action vested in trustee in bankruptcy — No assignment of chose in action or consent from trustee in bankruptcy to bringing of action — Whether automatic revesting of cause of action in discharged bankrupt — Bankruptcy Act 1966 (Cth), ss 58, 60, 116

Trusts — Resulting trust — Constructive trust — Family law property settlement — Statutory power of family court to make orders altering the interests of parties in property or the interests of trustee in bankruptcy in property vested in trustee — Whether statutory source of power could create equitable interests in property prior to court order — Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), s 79

Costs — Magistrates’ Court of Victoria — Criminal proceeding — Application by accused for costs — Application made several days after Magistrate made orders disposing of proceeding — Magistrate refused application — Whether Magistrates’ Court had jurisdiction to order costs in criminal proceeding after the entry of final orders — Whether Magistrates’ Court functus officio or no longer having authority in the matter — Magistrates’ Court Act 1989 (Vic), s 131(1) — Criminal Procedure Act 2009 (Vic), s 401(1)

Practice and procedure — Abuse of process — Parallel proceedings — Two proceedings between same parties with same factual substratum — Separate relief sought — Prima facie position of abuse of process — Whether displaced

Real property — Caveat — Lapsing notice — Commencement of proceedings to substantiate claim of caveator — Whether NSW District Court ‘court of competent jurisdiction’ for the purposes of proceedings to vindicate caveat over Victorian land — Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic), s 89A — Jurisdiction of Courts (Foreign Land) Act 1989 (NSW), ss 3, 4 — District Court Act 1973 (NSW), s 44(1)(c1)

Words and phrases — ‘court of competent jurisdiction’

Companies — Directors — Resignation — Date of director’s cessation from company — Resignation not registered until after 28 days — Application to fix earlier date as effective date — Corporations Act 2001 (Cth), s 203AA

Trusts and trustees — Judicial guidance — Charitable trust — Winding up of trust — Liquidators of trustee of charitable trust sought approval to distribute remaining assets to identified charity — Whether trust deeds conferred power of distribution on trustee — Whether appropriate to give guidance sought by liquidators — Supreme Court (General Civil Procedure) Rules 2025 (Vic), r 54.02

Industrial law — Long service leave — Construction Industry Long Service Leave Fund — Power station operator — Maintenance workers — Whether employer required to pay long service leave charge for workers employed to maintain power station — Whether operator of power station in the ‘construction industry’ — Whether ‘substantial character’ of industry in which employer engaged determinative of question — Rules of the Construction Industry Long Service Leave Fund, r 1 — Construction Industry Long Service Leave Act 1997 (Vic), s 3(2)

Words and phrases — ‘construction industry’ — ‘construction work’ — ‘routine or minor nature’

Criminal law — Interlocutory appeal — Use of DNA evidence — Forensic matching — Familial DNA search — Evidence Act 2008 (Vic), s 138 — Crimes Act 1958 (Vic), ss 464ZGH, 464ZGI

Words and phrases — ‘permissible matching’ — ‘familial DNA matching’

Real property — Co-ownership — Sale — Timeshare resort operated by company — Property of resort co-owned by 730 registered members with 1,386 titles — Resolution passed for company to make an application for appointment of trustees to consolidate titles and sell land — Whether appropriate to appoint trustees for sale — Whether it was appropriate to make ancillary orders

Constitutional law — Inconsistency between Commonwealth and State laws — Commonwealth consumer protection legislation — State building and construction industry security of payment legislation — Adjudication of payment claim under State security of payment legislation in favour of builder — Proceeding to register judgment for adjudication certificate — Owner sought to raise claim under Commonwealth consumer legislation in proceeding — Whether provisions of State legislation varied, detracted from, or impaired Commonwealth law — Whether rights under respective laws operated concurrently — Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic), ss 28M, 28O, 28R(1)–(5) — Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth), s 131C, sch 2 ss 18, 232, 234, 236, 237 — Commonwealth Constitution, s 109

Building contracts — Security of payment legislation — Obligation to pay amount of adjudication determination — Determination subsequently corrected — Whether time of obligation to pay reset upon issue of corrected determination — Building and Construction Industry Security of Payment Act 2002 (Vic), ss 23, 23A, 24, 28M(2)(a)

Wills and estates — Construction of testamentary disposition — Application for judicial advice — Non-existent beneficiary — Deceased had relationship with purported person over the internet and named that person in will as principal beneficiary — Principal beneficiary did not exist in the manner understood by the deceased, or at all — Whether executor entitled to distribute estate without regard to principal beneficiary’s interest — Whether gift to principal beneficiary ineffective — Whether principal beneficiary had failed to ‘survive’ deceased — Whether ‘gift over’ saved

Judicial review — Decision of superior court — Transfer of proceedings between courts — Determination by Supreme Court Judicial Registrar not to transfer Magistrates’ Court proceeding to Supreme Court — Whether determination judicial or administrative in character — Whether judicial review available against judicial officer of superior court exercising judicial power — Courts (Case Transfer) Act 1991 (Vic), ss 16, 17 — Constitution Act 1975 (Vic), s 75(2)

Limitation of actions — Negligence — Motor vehicle accident in 2016 — Power to grant extension of time where ‘just and reasonable’ — Applicable standard of appellate review — Limitation of Actions Act 1958 (Vic), s 23A