The Petal: Australian Case Law Daily from JADE OpenLaw

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Seven decisions from three tribunals in the Tribunals edition of 16 September 2026, two of them reported as doctrine, both from NCAT: a recruitment condition requiring a transgender employee to disclose his former names was indirect discrimination, and a ten-year restraint order against a serial GIPA applicant survived a ten-ground appeal. Also a dentist convicted of grooming a child patient, a victims support claim that turned on whether a false complaint to police is an act of violence, and a registry of one synopsis and two list-only decisions. Thursday is a control day: no house spot.

Tribunals Desk.

• HGY v Secretary, Ministry of Health in respect of Northern NSW Local Health District [2026] NSWCATAD 278 - the Former Name Check Condition was a requirement or condition under s 38B(1)(b) of the Anti-Discrimination Act; inability to comply extends beyond impossibility to compliance carrying an objective risk of 'outing' with significant fear and loss of privacy; a substantially higher proportion of cisgender employees could comply; the condition was unreasonable where centralised verification was available and not burdensome; $25,000 for non-economic loss on credible testimony without medical evidence plus $10,000 aggravated damages for the conduct of the proceedings; injunction and apology refused; complaint upheld, $35,000 within 60 days. JADE
• Webb v Secretary, Department of Communities and Justice [2026] NSWCATAP 293 - no actual or apprehended bias from a direction to produce a table of past access applications including those outside the two-year window; s 8(b) of the Interpretation Act permits s 110 GIPA restraint applications by multiple agencies against multiple respondents; separate consideration of each person is required but defects in form do not remove jurisdiction; access applications outside the two-year prerequisite may be considered as evidence; parties may be excluded from a confidential session under s 64(1)(d) of the NCAT Act; appeal dismissed. JADE
• HNL v Commissioner of Victims' Rights [2026] NSWCATAD 279 - domestic abuse under s 11(c) of the Crimes (Domestic and Personal Violence) Act is not a personal violence offence for the Victims Support Act; intimidation requires conduct causing a reasonable apprehension of injury with intent to cause fear; falsity of the complaint not proved on the balance of probabilities; no discrete injury tied to the event; administrative review is a fresh decision on the evidence at hearing; application dismissed, decision affirmed. JADE
• Health Care Complaints Commission v Doan [2026] NSWCATOD 122 - conviction for grooming a child under 14 satisfied s 144(a) of the National Law; sexually suggestive communications with a child patient were improper or unethical conduct under s 139B(1)(l); failure to notify the Board within seven days contravened s 130; cumulative conduct was professional misconduct; an extensive unrelated criminal history established unsuitability under s 144(e); combined Stage One and Stage Two hearing sound; registration cancelled with a seven-year non-review period; prohibition from providing any health service for seven years; impecuniosity no basis to depart from the usual costs rule. JADE

Registry.

• Barouh v Monash CC (No 2) [2026] VCAT 758 - synopsis: document production categories and the relevance test in VCAT planning proceedings; amendment under s 127 of the VCAT Act on Aon principles; staggered timetables; challenging secondary consent decisions. JADE
• Robinson v SafeWork NSW [2026] NSWCATAD 277 - list only (statutory interpretation). JADE
• The Owners - Unit Plan 4487 v Adams (Civil Dispute) [2026] ACAT 53 - list only (trespass). JADE

Full typeset decisions are in the Judicial Ledger. Theme music by Michael Green SC.

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Twenty-one decisions from four courts in the New South Wales edition of 16 September 2026, one of them five-star: the Court of Appeal on the reach of a solicitor's general lien over trust money. The Equity Division on the developer exclusion in home building insurance and an unjust guarantee under the Contracts Review Act; the Common Law Division on a Personal Injury Commission appeal panel that went beyond the appeal; the Land and Environment Court on how 'walking distance' is measured; three appeals from the Court of Criminal Appeal; and a registry of synopses and list-only decisions. The Court of Appeal and Court of Criminal Appeal decisions also appear in the Court of Appeal brief of the same date. Thursday is a control day: no house spot.

Practice and Procedure Desk (lead).

• Studio B Hair Design Pty Ltd v Kerrison [2026] NSWCA 193 - a solicitor's general lien is a retaining lien over the whole trust fund until costs are paid, not limited to the quantum owing; it extends to the costs of enforcing the claim for costs; a final certificate of costs assessment makes costs 'reasonably due and owing' under s 144(2) of the Legal Profession Uniform Law without filing as a judgment; retain but never appropriate absent a client direction; delay over Christmas and illness was compliance 'as soon as practicable'; leave granted, appeal dismissed. JADE
• Procent Pty Ltd v Australian Securities and Investments Commission [2026] NSWCA 192 - leave required under s 101(2)(r)(ii) of the Supreme Court Act where rectification of the ASIC register has no readily ascertainable value; register terminology following the Corporations Act definitions is not misleading; extension of time and leave refused. JADE
• Events By Lush Pty Ltd v Capital Securities Mortgages Pty Ltd (No 2) [2026] NSWCA 197 - stay of possession orders pending special leave refused: no exceptional circumstances, no substantial prospects, tentative refinancing evidence, balance of convenience against. JADE

Commercial Law Desk.

• Succar v Dominium Homes Pty Ltd [2026] NSWSC 1117 - 'will be owned' in s 3A(2)(a) of the Home Building Act is answered objectively by the legal arrangements in place at the time of the work as to ownership on completion; ownership at law suffices (the owner definition is 'at law or in equity') and an equitable partition does not displace it; s 5 of the Law Reform (Law and Equity) Act does not make common law ownership evaporate; five registered proprietors of ten dwellings were developers and the claim fell within the policy exclusion; separate question answered yes, proceedings dismissed. JADE
• Century 311 Pty Ltd v Confos; Confos v Century 311 Pty Ltd [2026] NSWSC 1115 - Contracts Review Act relief on the Khoshaba three-stage analysis: entry tainted by actual undue influence known to the lender's controlling mind; a discharge of a prior mortgage produced by the same influence was only a prima facie benefit; no true independent advice; failure to call the negotiator supported the adverse inference; deed of guarantee declared void under s 7(1)(b), mortgage set aside under s 8; judgment for the defendant on the claim and for the cross-claimant. JADE

Public Law Desk.

• Ivanovic v Mullungeen Pty Ltd [2026] NSWSC 1119 - an Appeal Panel of the Personal Injury Commission may re-diagnose and re-assess beyond the grounds of appeal (Pombinho preferred to Aquilina), but where a new diagnosis and PIRS rating decide the WPI and fall outside the appeal as framed, practical justice requires notice and an opportunity for submissions before the certificate issues; PIRS categorisation is an evaluative medical assessment not susceptible to review; adoption of one examining member's report shows a collective decision; certificate set aside and remitted. JADE
• Metis Developments Pty Ltd v Mosman Municipal Council [2026] NSWLEC 1610 - 'walking distance' in s 163 of the Housing SEPP: the words 'using, as far as reasonably practicable, public footpaths and pedestrian crossings' inform the selection of the shortest safe route, not a second-stage measurement; the 423 m route via the signalised crossing placed the site outside the inner area; beneficial construction not enlivened; no jurisdiction to grant consent; appeal dismissed, application refused, costs thrown away under s 8.15(3). JADE

Criminal Law Desk.

• Vute v R [2026] NSWCCA 141 - s 5 does not require a judge to list every alternative to imprisonment; a concession below cannot be displaced without incompetence or miscarriage; no House v The King error; leave granted, appeal dismissed. JADE
• Mahoney v R [2026] NSWCCA 142 - a mistake of fact is error only if the finding was not reasonably open; adverse facts beyond reasonable doubt; a finding from sparse agreed facts and an unchallenged exchange was open; JIRS statistics a blunt instrument; appeal dismissed. JADE
• El Seidi v R [2026] NSWCCA 143 - judge-alone dangerous driving convictions upheld; onus not reversed; no running commentary required; tribunal not bound by experts' assumptions; tendency evidence as a strand in the cable; verdicts not unreasonable. JADE

Registry (synopses and list-only decisions).

• Flip About Pty Ltd v Alamdo Holdings Pty Ltd (No 2) [2026] NSWSC 1108 - synopsis: interdependent joint Calderbank offers not capable of separate acceptance will not ground indemnity costs; apportionment principles; rent payable in advance accrues in full. JADE
• Donatiello v Donatiello (No 2) [2026] NSWSC 1123 - synopsis: the two-limb Calderbank test and the Hazeldene factors; limited means largely irrelevant to costs. JADE
• Christensen v Austin (No 2) [2026] NSWLEC 120 - synopsis: working out orders under r 40.8 UCPR and s 23 of the LEC Act cannot depart from or relitigate the original judgment. JADE
• Awad v Awad [2026] NSWCA 196 - competing adjournment applications decided on the dictates of justice; hearing adjourned to 28 September 2026. JADE
• In the matter of Commonwealth Securities Ltd [2026] NSWSC 1118 - list only (costs orders). JADE
• Harding v Allan [2026] NSWSC 1125 - list only (interlocutory orders). JADE
• Ballina Island Developments Pty Ltd v Hadler [2026] NSWSC 1107 - list only (costs orders). JADE
• JJZ Building Group Pty Ltd v B&L Trading Co Pty Ltd [2026] NSWSC 1106 - list only (interlocutory orders). JADE
• IDC Property Management Pty Ltd v Inner West Council [2026] NSWLEC 1608 - list only (development consent). JADE
• Brancatisano v Canterbury-Bankstown Council [2026] NSWLEC 1607 - list only (development application). JADE
• Pivotal Planning Pty Ltd v Wingecarribee Shire Council [2026] NSWLEC 1614 - list only (development application). JADE

Full typeset judgments are in the Judicial Ledger. Theme music by Michael Green SC.

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Nine decisions from four appellate courts in the Court of Appeal edition of 16 September 2026, five of them reported as doctrine. The Full Federal Court on whether an arbitration clause in a fifty-page click-through consumer agreement can stay a class action; the NSW Court of Appeal on the reach of a solicitor's general lien over trust money; and four criminal appeals from Perth and Sydney on what a sentencing judge must find, and say. Thursday is a control day: no house spot.

Commercial Law Desk (lead).

• Plus500AU Pty Ltd v AghaeiRad [2026] FCAFC 125 - unfairness under s 12BG of the ASIC Act is judged by the particular contract, not by strangers to it; transparency is assessed objectively and a court need not assume a consumer who clicked a box read fifty pages; significant imbalance is a practical comparison (arbitration cost against modest claims, loss of the Pt IVA mechanism, the supplier's self-help powers), not formal symmetry; the supplier bears the onus of reasonable necessity and did not discharge it; legislative support for arbitration does not immunise a clause from the unfair terms regime; independently, a stay of a whole representative proceeding for an obligation binding only the applicant cannot be granted without notice to group members and an opportunity for substitution; unconscionability not decided; appeals dismissed with costs. JADE

Practice and Procedure Desk.

• Studio B Hair Design Pty Ltd v Kerrison [2026] NSWCA 193 - a solicitor's general lien is a retaining lien over the whole of the trust fund until costs are paid, not limited to the quantum owing (Miller v Atlee contrary to principle); it extends to costs incurred enforcing the claim for costs (Gray v Graham applied, White v Bini doubted); a final certificate of costs assessment makes costs 'reasonably due and owing' under s 144(2) without filing as a judgment; a solicitor may retain but not appropriate absent a client direction; delay over Christmas and illness was compliance 'as soon as practicable' under s 142; leave granted, appeal dismissed. JADE
• Procent Pty Ltd v Australian Securities and Investments Commission [2026] NSWCA 192 - leave to appeal required under s 101(2)(r)(ii): rectification of the ASIC register has no readily ascertainable value and downstream commercial opportunities are supplementary; register terminology used in accordance with the Corporations Act definitions is not misleading to a reasonable reader; whether s 1322(4)(b) reaches a correct but misleading register left open; extension of time and leave refused. JADE
• Events By Lush Pty Ltd v Capital Securities Mortgages Pty Ltd (No 2) [2026] NSWCA 197 - a stay of possession orders pending a special leave application requires exceptional circumstances; grounds already rejected on the leave application gave no substantial prospects; tentative refinancing evidence from an unidentified lender given little weight; debt approaching the value of the security; stay refused. JADE
• Awad v Awad [2026] NSWCA 196 - competing adjournment applications decided under ss 56-58 of the Civil Procedure Act; 48 hours with a transcript sufficient for self-represented applicants who attended the hearing; adjournment on medical grounds granted to the first respondent; hearing adjourned to 28 September 2026 (registry line). JADE

Criminal Law Desk.

• KUA v The State of Western Australia [2026] WASCA 131 - a sentencing judge should state the salient facts founding the penalty; incorporating the prosecutor's facts by reference is deprecated and here produced at least three factual errors; under Farrugia v The King an error is material if it could realistically have affected the reasoning; s 76(2) of the Sentencing Act requires a positive, second-step determination that suspension is inappropriate; on resentencing parity with a materially more lenient co-offender and time served are reflected and a suspended sentence cannot be backdated; appeal allowed, resentenced to 2 years suspended for 12 months. JADE
• Vute v R [2026] NSWCCA 141 - s 5 of the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act does not require a judge to list every alternative to imprisonment; the threshold finding is part of the instinctive synthesis reviewable only for House v The King error; a concession below that the threshold was crossed cannot be displaced without incompetence or miscarriage; refusal of an ICO not challengeable on a correctness standard; manifest excess not shown; leave granted, appeal dismissed. JADE
• Mahoney v R [2026] NSWCCA 142 - a mistake of fact is error only where the finding was not reasonably open; adverse facts must be proved beyond reasonable doubt; a finding drawn from sparse agreed facts and an unchallenged exchange with the Crown was open where counsel raised no contrary submission; maximum penalties and standard non-parole periods are guideposts; JIRS statistics are a blunt instrument; extension of time and leave granted, appeal dismissed. JADE
• El Seidi v R [2026] NSWCCA 143 - judge-alone dangerous driving convictions upheld: regard to the accused's post-collision accounts did not reverse the onus; no denial of procedural fairness where forensic significance was ventilated or the finding was an agreed fact (s 191); a judge need not give a running commentary; the tribunal of fact is not bound by experts' assumptions and need not adjudicate between them; a strand in the cable need not be proved beyond reasonable doubt; tendency evidence is circumstantial evidence; verdicts not unreasonable. JADE

Full typeset judgments are in the Judicial Ledger. Theme music by Michael Green SC.

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Three Queensland decisions, and the two from the Court of Appeal are both five-star doctrine: when a defendant can get summary judgment on a limitation point and what a nuisance plaintiff must plead; and whether a court must look inside counselling records before it lets an accused subpoena them. Wednesday's house spot from JADE sits after the opening story, in its own chapter.

Practice and Procedure Desk.

• Maybury v Brodie [2026] QCA 175 - summary judgment under r 293(2) has two cumulative requirements (no real prospect of success and no need for a trial); a defendant relying on limitation bears the onus, and when economic loss from a latent building defect accrues is unsettled and unsuited to interlocutory determination; the pleaded continuing-breach case was not shown to be barred; whether the Body Corporate Act and the easement of shelter confer private rights is for trial; private nuisance need not plead fault (Hunt Leather); appeal allowed, orders set aside. JADE

Criminal Law Desk.

• SWN v CJA [2026] QCA 174 - sexual assault counselling privilege attaches to the communication, not the document; under s 14H(1)(a) the court need not examine each document before granting leave and may be satisfied by inference from known circumstances; singular includes plural; 'application' means the filed application; the s 14H(2A) inspection power is used sparingly; access, redaction and restriction are for the return of the subpoena; appeal dismissed. Parties pseudonymised; the accused is presumed innocent. JADE

Registry (list only, no outcome stated).

• McMillan v Trad (No 2) [2026] QSC 219 - costs orders. JADE

Full typeset judgments are in the Judicial Ledger. Theme music by Michael Green SC.

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Fourteen New South Wales decisions. The Supreme Court on a protective costs order for a public interest challenge with no personal stake, and on what it takes to say a self-represented litigant lacks capacity. The Court of Appeal on three refusals of leave, including a payment custodian that held the money but made no promises. The Land and Environment Court on heritage additions and two tree disputes. And bail after a retrial order. Wednesday's house spot from JADE sits after the opening block, in its own chapter.

Practice and Procedure Desk.

• Lyon v Professional Standards Council of New South Wales [2026] NSWSC 1114 - protective costs order under UCPR r 42.4(1): an evaluative discretion under the s 56 overriding purpose turning on access to justice; public interest without a statutory open standing regime; the claim need only be arguable and bona fide; a cap should not remove all exposure; costs capped at $25,000, not the $5,000 sought. JADE
• Sasterawan v Molla [2026] NSWSC 1116 - a litigant is presumed to have capacity and the party asserting incapacity must prove it, usually by expert medical evidence; the court will not read the opposing solicitor's affidavit of its own motion; a prior incapacity finding is not evidence of the facts found (s 91(1)) and capacity is specific to the current litigation; a r 7.18 tutor application must name the tutor and give notice, or seek a stay under s 67; separate question determined in the plaintiff's favour. JADE

Commercial Law Desk.

• Young v Aliexpress International (Australia) Pty Limited [2026] NSWCA 194 - leave refused with costs: a custodian that receives, holds and refunds money is not knowingly concerned in others' misrepresentations; s 12GH(2) attribution needs the company's consent to the conduct; leave to replead refused after repeated failures; the amount at stake weighed against leave. JADE
• CharterLaw Legal Pty Ltd v Maloney [2026] NSWCA 195 - no stay of costs orders not yet made; expedition refused under the Elders burden; the appeal would not be rendered nugatory. JADE
• McCall v SMRT Log Pty Ltd [2026] NSWCA 191 - leave to appeal an order permitting reliance on an affidavit without cross-examination refused: no issue of principle, no House v The King error, premature. JADE

Public Law Desk (Land and Environment Court synopses; principles only, no outcome stated).

• Way Ming International Holdings Pty Ltd v The Council of the City of Sydney [2026] NSWLEC 1604 - heritage additions and design excellence: heritage inventory sheets not applied prescriptively; the cl 6.21C(2) considerations; an adequate heritage impact statement; the cl 4.6 request; LEP envelope standards against DCP special character controls. JADE
• Roylance v Todd; Brooks v Todd [2026] NSWLEC 1603 - Trees Act jurisdiction: the s 4 zoning threshold; the s 10(2) damage/injury test, 'likely' as a real and not remote chance; on-site advanced testing against desktop review; a council permit is not determinative. JADE
• Armstrong v The Owners of Strata Plan 5548 [2026] NSWLEC 1611 - causal nexus under s 10(2): proximity is not enough; the seven-factor Fang v Li framework; AS 2870 cannot establish causation; the 12-month near-future test; alternative causes eliminated. JADE

Criminal Law Desk.

• Galey-Newbury v R [2026] NSWCCA 140 - bail granted with conditions after a conviction appeal succeeded and a retrial was ordered: cause shown by time in custody, the proportion of the non-parole period served by the retrial date and prior compliance; bail concerns minor and mitigated by conditions. The applicant faces a retrial and is presumed innocent. JADE

Registry (list only, no outcome stated).

• Stathakis v Richard Crookes Constructions Pty Ltd [2026] NSWSC 1113 - negligence, duty of care. JADE
• Sharma v J L Management Pty Ltd [2026] NSWLEC 1601 - trees dispute. JADE
• Lanevick Pty Ltd v Hunter's Hill Council [2026] NSWLEC 1605 - development application. JADE
• Li v Ku-ring-gai Council [2026] NSWLEC 1606 - development application appeal. JADE
• Cadele Investments Pty Ltd v Randwick City Council [2026] NSWLEC 1593 - development consent. JADE

Full typeset judgments are in the Judicial Ledger. Theme music by Michael Green SC.

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A quiet day on the Western Australian list, two decisions, and the one that heads it is a five-star doctrine decision from the Court of Appeal on whether the State can appeal a judgment it has already paid in full. First, a co-ownership sale in the Supreme Court. Wednesday's house spot from JADE sits after the opening story, in its own chapter.

Practice and Procedure Desk (synopsis; principles only, no outcome stated).

• Young v Bottoni [2026] WASC 385 - the two-stage O 14 summary judgment test; sale in lieu of partition under s 126(1) of the Property Law Act is mandatory unless there is good reason to the contrary; standing from a half share; disputes over timing, rent or fixtures do not defeat the order; affidavits presented as pleadings are of little evidentiary value; conduct of sale under O 53. JADE

Public Law Desk.

• The State of Western Australia v Barber [2026] WASCA 130 - judicial power is the final determination of the parties' rights; a judgment satisfied in full with undertakings leaves no controversy, and a decision would be an advisory appellate opinion; the discretion to hear a moot appeal is exercised cautiously and only in exceptional circumstances, weighing scope and resources, wider ramifications, reputational vindication, bad faith findings, doubt over correctness and costs; other pending claims and reputational vindication do not justify it, an appeal lying against orders, not findings; appeal dismissed. JADE

Full typeset judgments are in the Judicial Ledger. Theme music by Michael Green SC.

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Seven appellate decisions, three of them five-star doctrine. Queensland on summary judgment, limitation and what a nuisance plaintiff must plead, and on how the counselling privilege threshold is applied before a subpoena issues. Western Australia on whether a State that has paid a judgment in full can still appeal it. New South Wales on three refusals of leave and a grant of bail after a retrial order. Wednesday's house spot from JADE sits after the opening block, in its own chapter.

Practice and Procedure Desk.

• Maybury v Brodie [2026] QCA 175 - summary judgment has two cumulative requirements (no real prospect of success and no need for a trial); a defendant relying on limitation bears the onus, and when economic loss from a latent building defect accrues is unsettled and unsuited to interlocutory determination; the pleaded continuing-breach case was not shown to be barred; private nuisance need not plead fault (Hunt Leather); appeal allowed, orders set aside. JADE
• McCall v SMRT Log Pty Ltd [2026] NSWCA 191 - leave to appeal an interlocutory order permitting reliance on an affidavit without cross-examination refused: no issue of principle, no House v The King error, premature; an order excusing a civil party's attendance has no legal effect. JADE
• Young v Aliexpress International (Australia) Pty Limited [2026] NSWCA 194 - leave refused with costs: a payment custodian that receives, holds and refunds money is not knowingly concerned in others' misrepresentations; s 12GH(2) attribution needs the company's consent to the conduct; leave to replead refused after repeated failures; the amount at stake weighed against leave. JADE
• CharterLaw Legal Pty Ltd v Maloney [2026] NSWCA 195 - no stay of costs orders not yet made; expedition refused under the Elders burden; the appeal would not be rendered nugatory. JADE

Criminal Law Desk.

• SWN v CJA [2026] QCA 174 - sexual assault counselling privilege attaches to the communication, not the document; the court need not examine each document before granting leave and may be satisfied by inference from known circumstances; singular includes plural; the s 14H(2A) inspection power is used sparingly; access questions are for the return of the subpoena; appeal dismissed. Parties pseudonymised; the accused is presumed innocent. JADE
• Galey-Newbury v R [2026] NSWCCA 140 - bail granted with conditions after a conviction appeal succeeded and a retrial was ordered: cause shown by time in custody, the proportion of the non-parole period served by the retrial date and prior compliance on bail; bail concerns minor and mitigated by conditions. The applicant faces a retrial and is presumed innocent. JADE

Public Law Desk.

• The State of Western Australia v Barber [2026] WASCA 130 - judicial power is the final determination of the parties' rights; a judgment satisfied in full with undertakings leaves no controversy, and a decision would be an advisory appellate opinion; the discretion to hear a moot appeal is exercised cautiously and only in exceptional circumstances; other pending claims and reputational vindication do not justify it, an appeal lying against orders, not findings; appeal dismissed. JADE

Full typeset judgments are in the Judicial Ledger. Theme music by Michael Green SC.

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One decision, the whole episode: the Supreme Court of New Zealand unanimously declines to extend the tort of mental harm to secondary victims who lack a recognisable psychiatric disorder and proximity to the event, refuses to recognise a novel tort of wrongful death, reaffirms Re Chase (exemplary damages do not survive the claimant's death), confirms that recovery under the Deaths by Accidents Compensation Act 1952 is confined to pecuniary loss, and sets aside the Court of Appeal's remittal order because no viable pathway to relief remained.

Practice and Procedure Desk and Public Law Desk.

• Tracey Ida Peka as Personal Representative of the Estate of Ida Hawkins v Sam Te Hei [2026] NZSC 121 (Winkelmann CJ, Ellen France, Miller, Cooke and Katz JJ, 4 September 2026) - a claim under the Prisoners' and Victims' Claims Act 2005 (ss 46, 58) must disclose an established cause of action payable under the general law; the common law tort of mental harm to secondary victims is not extended beyond recognisable psychiatric disorder plus physical and temporal proximity (indeterminate liability; inappropriate judicial change beside the accident compensation and PVC Act schemes); no novel tort founded on a general sense of justice; any claim confined to exemplary damages did not survive the claimant's death under s 3(1) of the Law Reform Act 1936, Re Chase [1989] 1 NZLR 325 applied and not overruled; merger not decided; a claim under s 7(1)(a) of the Deaths by Accidents Compensation Act 1952 arguable on the words but the settled pecuniary-loss construction not disturbed; appeal dismissed, cross-appeal allowed, order for reconsideration set aside, no order as to costs. JADE

Full typeset judgments are in the Judicial Ledger. Theme music by Michael Green SC.

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Six Victorian decisions: the Court of Appeal holds the Grand Prix Corporation to the causation case it ran at trial and to its limited-use tender, and rules that a torn-up rent cheque did not discharge the debt; the Trial Division holds that pre-trial public interest immunity claims over disclosable material are governed by the Evidence Act, not the common law, and endorses the new s 416A procedure; and two synopses carry the Commonwealth bail framework and the provisional liquidator principles.

Commercial Law Desk.

• Australian Grand Prix Corporation v World Touring Melbourne [2026] VSCA 225 - a party is bound by the causation case it ran at trial (new point not open even though within the pleadings); a limited-use s 136 tender cannot be resiled from on appeal; loss of a valuable commercial opportunity needs no concluded agreement; 50 per cent Sellars discount untouched under House v The King; leave refused on all grounds. JADE
• Darin William Blain & Anor v Blain Dairying Pty Ltd as trustee of the Blain Trading Trust & Anor [2026] VSCA 226 - an effective tender unreasonably refused does not discharge the underlying debt (tender in cash waived by accepting the cheque); credit-based findings stand unless glaringly improbable or contrary to compelling inferences; damages pleading gave notice of a claim in debt; morning-of-hearing amendment refused under s 25 CPA; leave granted and appeal allowed on the tender ground only. JADE

Criminal Law Desk.

• DPP v Addo [2026] VSC 587 - s 416A is procedural only; pre-trial PII claims over disclosable material are governed by s 130 Evidence Act (extended by s 131A), not the common law, even without a subpoena; matters-of-state threshold met and the balance favoured non-disclosure; order made (pending prosecution, presumption of innocence). JADE
• Re Ahmad [2026] VSC 579 - synopsis: two-stage bail test for Commonwealth offences (exceptional circumstances under s 15AA Crimes Act, then unacceptable risk under s 4E Bail Act with the burden on the prosecution); ten-factor checklist (framework only; no outcome stated in the edition). JADE

Registry.

• Re Lifelong Link Group Pty Ltd [2026] VSC 592 - synopsis: principles for appointing a provisional liquidator and the categories of just and equitable winding up; adjournment applications in urgent matters; leave for a director to appear for a company (framework only; no outcome stated in the edition). JADE
• Clarke v JB Hi-Fi Group Pty Ltd (No 4) [2026] VSC 591 - noted (case management); listed without headnote, no outcome reported. JADE

Full typeset judgments are in the Judicial Ledger. Theme music by Michael Green SC.

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Fifteen tribunal decisions, nine of them from the patent and trade marks offices: performance management records are 'suitability for employment' information outside the NSW privacy Acts and internal sharing is not disclosure; a single threat to blacklist a tenant is not a breach of quiet enjoyment; the Patent Office confines added-matter objections to what an amendment introduces, refuses a cell-culture patent on plausibility, and discounts hindsight-infected expert evidence; and the Trade Marks Office registers GIEN and GRILLOUMI, refuses PumasAI, and rejects an emu citrus opposition for want of reputation evidence.

Tribunals Desk: New South Wales.

• HDX v Sydney Water [2026] NSWCATAD 271 - performance improvement plan records are information about suitability for employment (s 4(3)(j) PPIP Act; s 5(3)(m) HRIP Act) and not personal information; disclosure under s 18 requires dissemination outside the agency; decision amended to add a no-breach finding under the HRIP Act, otherwise dismissed. JADE
• Staats v Cartwright [2026] NSWCATAP 289 - time extended for a short unopposed delay; 'unfortunate consequences' is not a question of law; a single unwarranted threat to list a tenant on a tenancy database is not of itself a breach of quiet enjoyment under s 50; new unconscionable conduct claim not open on appeal; leave refused, appeal dismissed. JADE

Tribunals Desk: Patent Office.

• Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation v eggXYt Ltd [2026] APO 22 - opposition to post-acceptance amendments dismissed: the s 102(1) added-matter test asks whether the skilled person learns something new as a result of the amendment, and pre-existing defects are irrelevant; disputed claim terms clear in context; no intermediate generalisation; s 102(2)(b) not engaged by pre-existing clarity or support deficiencies; costs against CSIRO. JADE
• Vow Group Pty Ltd v Yissum Research Development Company of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Ltd [2026] APO 20 - application refused for insufficiency, lack of support and utility: not plausible that the claimed serum-free single-cell composition could be produced; best method and inventive step grounds not established; no saving amendment available; costs against the applicant with a Schedule 8 variation. JADE
• CDB Goldair Australia Pty Ltd v SharkNinja Operating LLC [2026] APO 23 - claims 1 to 3, 7 and 12 to 15 refused for lack of inventive step over D2 plus common general knowledge (flush closure); 'continuous outer surface' construed as flush or co-planar; expert's own design given no weight as hindsight-infected; remaining claims survive; two months to amend; costs to opponent. JADE
• CQMS Pty Ltd v Caterpillar Inc. [2026] APO 18 - 'proximate' construed as less than halfway between the near and far reference points; claims 1, 2, 6, 8 and 10 anticipated by D1 and obvious; claims 3 to 5, 7 and 9 obvious; utility and support made out; two months to amend; costs to opponent. JADE

Tribunals Desk: Trade Marks Office.

• Suntory Holdings Limited [2026] ATMO 166 - GIEN accepted for beverages excluding wine: a small French commune with no beverage reputation in Australia was inherently adapted to distinguish under s 41 and raised no real and tangible danger of confusion under s 43; s 33(4) hearing is a fresh consideration. JADE
• Department of Agriculture of the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Republic of Cyprus v Fontana Food AB [2026] ATMO 164 - GRILLOUMI proceeds to registration: coined composite word inherently adapted to distinguish; no s 43 connotation arising from the mark itself; halloumi's recognition as a cheese type is product reputation, not trade mark reputation for s 60; costs to the applicant. JADE
• Puma Se v Pumas-AI Inc. [2026] ATMO 168 - PumasAI refused: software of the same description as PUMA's broad software claim; deceptively similar; honest concurrent use requires evidence of a subjective belief that no confusion would arise (Zip Co v Firstmac), not a bare assertion; costs to the opponent. JADE
• NHP Electrical Engineering Products Pty Ltd v Katko Oy [2026] ATMO 167 - non-use removal granted in part: the ISO word mark was not substantially identical to the figurative mark; use proved only for plugs, sockets and switches; registration narrowed to those goods under s 101; each party to bear its own costs. JADE
• Ashley Meyer and Carol Meyer, as trustees for the Two Pine No.1 Trust v Premier Fresh Australia Pty Ltd [2026] ATMO 169 - opposition failed: the opponent's packers' reports and trade figures lacked sales data, market size and explanation, so no significant or substantial reputation by the priority date under s 60; the s 42(b) ground built on the same facts failed with it; costs against the opponent. JADE

Tribunals Desk: Victoria.

• Cheng v Hotham Operations Pty Ltd & Ors [2026] VCAT 749 - synopsis: pro-rata nightly valuation with percentage reduction for lost amenity; damages for disappointment; joinder of respondents mid-hearing (method only; no outcome stated in the edition). JADE

Registry.

• Arcare Pty Ltd v Yarra CC [2026] VCAT 624 - noted (permit review); listed without headnote, no outcome reported. JADE
• Schmidt v The Owners – Units Plan 4693 & Anor (Unit Titles) [2026] ACAT 44 - noted (unit titles interlocutory application); listed without headnote, no outcome reported. JADE
• Dental Board of Australia v Cole [2026] QCAT 279 - noted (professional misconduct); listed without headnote, no outcome reported. JADE

Full typeset judgments are in the Judicial Ledger. Theme music by Michael Green SC.