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Mineralogy asked for indemnity costs against Citic five years and eight months after judgment, and the WA Court of Appeal explains why the discount for lateness is everything. Plus the NSW Court of Appeal's calibrated middle path between open court files and suppression.
In this episode
Practice & Procedure Desk — Mineralogy Pty Ltd v Citic Limited [2026] WASCA 118: leave to appeal a discretionary costs decision needs House v The King error; the three-factor delay framework; prejudice from a stale assessment may be inferred without evidence; liberty to apply is not a standstill. Watson v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) [2026] NSWCA 172: the Harman undertaking ends once material is in evidence, but non-party access to court files can be restricted on notice to protect the right to silence.
Homed to today's Federal Courts episode — Minister for Immigration and Citizenship v GNHW [2026] FCAFC 107.
Case notes
Mineralogy Pty Ltd v Citic Limited [2026] WASCA 118 — Quinlan CJ, Vaughan and Seaward JJA, 25 August 2026. Signal: Illustrative, ★★★★★. Supreme Court Act 1935 (WA) ss 37(1), 60(1)(f). Leave refused, appeal dismissed. Indemnity costs sought 5 years 8 months after judgment, trial judge retired; delay grossly excessive, unexplained, prejudicial; assessment of trial conduct belongs to the judge who saw it; prejudice inferred from the court's own knowledge; unreasonable conduct enlivens but does not exhaust the discretion. Why aired: delay alone can defeat an otherwise-open indemnity claim.
Watson v Director of Public Prosecutions (NSW) [2026] NSWCA 172 — Adamson JA, 25 August 2026. Court Suppression and Non-publication Orders Act 2010 (NSW). Access to the CoA and District Court files restricted pending the judicial review summons, any non-party application on notice; suppression refused (material already in evidence — Harman undertaking spent); exposure to unpressed privileged material does not require recusal. Why aired: the access-restriction middle path when related proceedings collide.
Full typeset judgments are in the Judicial Ledger. Theme music by Michael Green SC.
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A school enrolment dispute becomes a privacy case, and the tribunal draws two lines first: who made the complaint, and what exactly was complained about. Plus the appeal panel on what makes a dividing fence sufficient, and the workers compensation reports that were never created.
In this episode
Tribunals Desk — HCZ v Department of Education [2026] NSWCATAD 253: standing under the privacy legislation belongs to whoever made the internal review application; external review reaches only the conduct complained of; residency-check home visits remitted for reconsideration. Younger v Deason [2026] NSWCATAP 264: the multi-factor sufficient-fence test, 160mm encroachment tolerance, and the jurisdictional line between fencing and home building claims. FMM v Insurance and Care NSW [2026] NSWCATAD 250: reasonable search compels what is held, not what was never generated; Nominal Insurer reports are excluded information.
Rapid file — Zhang v Chief Commissioner of State Revenue [2026] NSWCATAD 255 · Price v The Cabinet Office [2026] NSWCATAD 254.
Also on the docket — Dempster v Jeffrey Fauvette t/as All About Comfort [2026] NSWCATAD 248 · Lawrence v Secretary, Department of Education [2026] NSWCATAD 252 · JJD v Department of Justice – Blue Card Services [2026] QCAT 377.
Case notes
HCZ v Department of Education [2026] NSWCATAD 253 — S Higgins SM, 24 August 2026. PPIP Act ss 10, 17, 53, 55; ADR Act s 63(3)(d). Only the maker of the internal review application has standing for external review (child removed as party); review is confined to the conduct internally complained of; the online collection notice satisfied s 10; use of the address for physical residency checks remitted on the Education Act authorisation question. Why aired: the internal complaint fixes both who may review and what is reviewable. Child pseudonym preserved.
Younger v Deason [2026] NSWCATAP 264 — Westgarth DP and McAteer SM, 24 August 2026. Dividing Fences Act 1991 (NSW) s 4; Home Building Act 1989 (NSW) s 48K. Sufficiency is a multi-factor question; minor encroachments up to 160mm tolerated (Purcell v Chadwick); fencing claims against neighbours and building claims against contractors go through different statutory doors with different time limits. Why aired: the worked example for the state's most common neighbour dispute.
FMM v Insurance and Care NSW [2026] NSWCATAD 250 — A Falk SM, 24 August 2026. GIPA Act ss 53, 105(1), Sch 1 cl 6, Sch 2 cl 3. Search obligation discharged where the evidence shows no further reports were generated after scheme membership ceased; Cost of Claims Reports relate to the Nominal Insurer's functions and are conclusively presumed against disclosure. Why aired: access law compels what is held, not what you wish had been kept.
Full typeset judgments are in the Judicial Ledger. Theme music by Michael Green SC.
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The last shareholders in a uranium miner lose the company but keep 85 per cent of their costs, and the Federal Court maps which kinds of fighting the compulsory-acquisition costs shield protects. Plus a fair hearing adjusted for disability, the Full Court on late tribunal reasons, and two family appeals about starting properly.
In this episode
Commercial Law Desk — North Limited v Zentree Limited, in the matter of Energy Resources of Australia Ltd (Costs) [2026] FCA 1202: "unreasonably" in s 664F(4) bears its ordinary meaning; failed expert valuation evidence is protected, misconceived formal objections are not; 85/15 broad-brush apportionment.
Practice & Procedure Desk — Garnsey v Minter Ellison Services Pty Limited (Application for adjustments and accommodations) [2026] FCA 1193: accommodations for a vulnerable witness sound in procedural fairness, not the Disability Discrimination Act; AVL and a non-coaching support person yes, a communication intermediary and pre-emptive credibility orders no.
Public Law Desk — Manu v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2026] FCAFC 108: 105-day delay in tribunal reasons cannot impugn the decision already made; practical injustice must be proved; courts explain procedure to self-represented litigants but do not run their cases.
Family Law Desk — Porthos & Porthos [2026] FedCFamC1A 143: contravention counts are quasi-criminal — precise time, date and manner, no morning-of-hearing rebuilds; the no-case test asks could, not would. Vaughan (No 4) [2026] FedCFamC1A 144: no appeal right crystallises before reasons; protective filings are vexatious and must be dismissed.
Rapid file — Baig v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2026] FCA 1197 (the non-appearance dismissal checklist) · Commissioner of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission v Edwards [2026] FCA 1206 (the regulator's default-judgment proof template).
Also on the docket — GGW18 v Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs [2026] FCA 1198 · Clark v Registrar of Titles [2026] FCA 1203.
Case notes
North Limited v Zentree Limited (Costs) [2026] FCA 1202 — Markovic J, 24 August 2026. Signal: Doctrine, ★★★★★. Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ss 664C, 664F(4), 667C. The three disentitling categories are distinct; noscitur a sociis does not narrow "unreasonably"; expert valuation evidence with a proper forensic basis is protected though rejected; formal objections contrary to authority or without evidence are unreasonable; partly successful discovery is not; North pays 85% of Zentree's costs. Why aired: settles the meaning of the costs shield and maps protected conduct.
Garnsey v Minter Ellison Services Pty Limited [2026] FCA 1193 — Shariff J, 24 August 2026. Signal: Practice & Procedure, ★★★★★. FCA Act ss 23, 37M, 37P, 47A; Evidence Act 1995 (Cth) ss 26, 29. DDA inapplicable to judicial functions; fairness owed to all parties; AVL, support person, breaks granted; intermediary, advance cross-examination rules and credibility orders refused. Why aired: the template for vulnerable-witness applications.
Manu v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2026] FCAFC 108 — Snaden, Cheeseman and Mcelwaine JJ, 24 August 2026. Migration Act ss 501(3A), 501CA(4); FCA Act s 33M. Post-decision delay cannot establish error in the decision; no practical injustice where review commenced in time and opportunities to amend went unused; self-represented litigants get procedure, not advocacy; weight complaints are merits review. Why aired: the fairness clock stops at decision.
Porthos & Porthos [2026] FedCFamC1A 143 — Williams J, 19 August 2026. Family Law Act Pt VII Div 13A; r 2.52. Discretion to amend exists but a wholesale morning-of-hearing rebuild is a new application; wrong no-case test (would, not could) caused no miscarriage; counts must particularise time, date and manner (Gravis & Major; Kirk). Why aired: particularisation discipline in quasi-criminal enforcement.
Vaughan (No 4) [2026] FedCFamC1A 144 — Campton, Schonell and Curran JJ, 20 August 2026. Family Law Act ss 102Q, 102QAE, 102QAF. Determination in absence as requested is not unfair; deferred reasons are not error; no appeal right before reasons and final judgment; protective application vexatious, mandatory dismissal. Why aired: appeals wait for reasons.
Full typeset judgments are in the Judicial Ledger. Theme music by Michael Green SC.
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A quiet appellate day, and both decisions that matter come from Adelaide: what adequate reasons require of a judge sitting alone, and who has standing to challenge a will. Reported with a survivor-sensitive register; the lead is covered as legal doctrine only.
In this episode
Criminal Law Desk — Fulton (a Pseudonym) v The King [2026] SASCA 97: a judge-alone conviction appeal on the adequacy of reasons — principles and main findings must be exposed, not every peripheral dispute; uncharged acts, complainant inconsistencies, DNA transfer evidence and CPAP alibi data all worked through.
Practice & Procedure Desk — Narciso v Narciso & Ors [2026] SASCA 99: standing to challenge a will fails where the challenger takes nothing under the prior undisputed will; beneficiaries cannot sue in the administrator's place absent exceptional circumstances; no utility in litigating an insolvent estate.
Homed to today's Federal Courts episode — Manu v Minister for Immigration and Citizenship [2026] FCAFC 108 · Porthos & Porthos [2026] FedCFamC1A 143 · Vaughan (No 4) [2026] FedCFamC1A 144.
Case notes
Fulton (a Pseudonym) v The King [2026] SASCA 97 — Livesey P, David and Doyle JJA, 20 August 2026. Signal: Doctrine, ★★★★★. Criminal Law Consolidation Act 1935 (SA) s 56(1); Evidence Act 1929 (SA) s 34R. Permission granted, appeal dismissed. Reasons in judge-alone trials must identify the principles applied and the main factual findings, not every peripheral consideration; absent reliance by either party, a permissible use of uncharged acts need not be expressly negatived where a s 34R direction is given; DNA in clothing may circumstantially support a complainant despite innocent-transfer hypotheses (Beddoes applied); technical alibi data requires expert proof of accuracy; a reasons complaint requires unsound reasoning material to a miscarriage where the verdict is not challenged as unreasonable. Why aired: defines what adequate reasons require, and confirms a reasons challenge is not a second run at the verdict.
Narciso v Narciso & Ors [2026] SASCA 99 — Stanley JA, 20 August 2026. Signal: Practice & Procedure, ★★★★★. Uniform Civil Rules 2020 (SA) rr 143.1(1), 82.2, 254.4. Extension of time refused; summary dismissal upheld. No standing to challenge a will where the applicant is excluded under the prior undisputed will (Gardiner v Hughes); recovery of estate property is the administrator's duty and a beneficiary may sue in its place only in exceptional circumstances (Ramage v Waclaw); bare assertions of incapacity cannot resist summary dismissal against medical, will-file and translation evidence; no utility where an insolvent estate would be consumed by administration costs. Why aired: the order of inquiry before any will challenge — standing, estate, evidence.
Full typeset judgments are in the Judicial Ledger. Theme music by Michael Green SC.
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The Petal daily brief for Tuesday 28 July 2026, the tribunals edition: what a missing statutory notice does — and does not — poison in a lawyer’s disciplinary case, the builder’s nineteen-ground appeal that won exactly one point, and the renewal trap.
Features:
Tribunals Desk
Rapid file
Also on the docket
Produced by BarNet OpenLaw, the creators of JADE, from The Petal’s Tribunals edition of 28 July 2026.
The voices in this program are AI-generated. Nothing in this program is legal advice.
Theme music by Michael Green SC.
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The Petal, New Zealand edition, for the fortnight to 27 July 2026 — 71 decisions across the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and High Court, distilled: sentencing offenders who aged out of the Youth Court, the Parliament grounds protest as a tort claim, when a mortgagor’s right to redeem finally dies, and the moratorium that stops a foreign judgment at the border.
Features:
Criminal Law Desk
Public Law Desk
Commercial Law Desk
Practice Desk
Rapid file
Also on the docket
The remaining decisions of the fortnight, including the Supreme Court’s interlocutory cluster and the estates list, are indexed in The Petal’s New Zealand edition of 27 July 2026 at ledger.jade.io.
Some matters this episode concern youth offending; they are reported as legal doctrine only. Produced by BarNet OpenLaw, the creators of JADE.
The voices in this program are AI-generated. Nothing in this program is legal advice.
Theme music by Michael Green SC.
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The Petal daily brief for Tuesday 28 July 2026, the federal courts edition — eleven decisions, led by the Full Court’s decision upholding the racial hatred provisions and clarifying the implied freedom analysis, then $55 million in penalties for interest-free advertising that was not the whole story.
Features:
Public Law Desk
Commercial Law Desk
Practice & Procedure Desk
Also on the docket
Some matters this episode concern racial discrimination; they are reported as legal doctrine only. Produced by BarNet OpenLaw, the creators of JADE, from The Petal’s Australia Federal Courts edition of 28 July 2026.
The voices in this program are AI-generated. Nothing in this program is legal advice.
Theme music by Michael Green SC.
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The Petal daily brief for Tuesday 28 July 2026, the appeal courts edition: the inactive director whose inaction was the breach, the satisfaction clause that let a buyer walk, and the property line that divides private access rights from public nuisance.
Features:
Commercial Law Desk
Public Law Desk
Practice & Procedure Desk
The Full Federal Court’s decision in Hanson v Faruqi [2026] FCAFC 96, cross-listed in this edition, has its full treatment in today’s Australian Federal Courts episode. JADE
Produced by BarNet OpenLaw, the creators of JADE, from The Petal’s Australia Court of Appeal edition of 28 July 2026.
The voices in this program are AI-generated. Nothing in this program is legal advice.
Theme music by Michael Green SC.
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The Petal daily brief for Monday 27 July 2026, the tribunals edition — the heaviest tribunals day this program has covered, sixteen decisions, including the program’s first full docket from the Australian Trade Marks Office.
Features:
Tribunals Desk
The Trade Marks Office block (Commercial Desk)
Rapid file
Also on the docket
Produced by BarNet OpenLaw, the creators of JADE, from The Petal’s Tribunals edition of 27 July 2026.
The voices in this program are AI-generated. Nothing in this program is legal advice.
Theme music by Michael Green SC.
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The Petal daily brief for Monday 27 July 2026, the federal courts edition. A quiet day, three decisions that earn their place: five-year site-blocking orders with a rapid-response window for new releases, the implied undertaking that outlives a discontinued case, and the Family Desk’s first daily appearance.
Features:
Commercial Law Desk
Practice & Procedure Desk
Family Law Desk
Produced by BarNet OpenLaw, the creators of JADE, from The Petal’s Australia Federal Courts edition of 27 July 2026.
The voices in this program are AI-generated. Nothing in this program is legal advice.
Theme music by Michael Green SC.
From the publisher's feed
The Petal is the daily Australian law podcast for lawyers, barristers, law students and anyone who follows the courts. Each weekday it covers the new judgments that matter from the High Court of…
The day in Australian law, on your perambulations. The Host and our desk correspondents (Criminal Law, Commercial Law, Public Law, Practice and Procedure, Tax, Family Law, Tribunals and the Trans-Tasman Desk) explain what each case decides and why it matters to practice, in about ten minutes. Alongside the daily briefs: The Fortnight in Practice, The Petal: In Practice, Deep Dives on High Court decisions, and state editions.
Produced by BarNet OpenLaw, the creators of JADE, from The Petal, the curated daily editions of the Jade Ledger. Read the judgments at jade.io and ledger.jade.io. Every episode and every case discussed: Episode Guide and Case Index.
Reviewed under OpenLaw's content and podcasting standard. The voices in this program are AI-generated. Theme music by Michael Green SC. Nothing in this program is legal advice.