High Court. Can it be said that "a decision maker, in whom is reposed a very general statutory power or discretion, can reduce the standard of procedural fairness to "nothingness" simply by deciding that the interests of those affected are irrelevant"?
Some of the questions to the Federal Court (FCA) were as follows:
Question 1: Can it be said that "a power apt to affect the interests of an individual in a way that is substantially different to the interests of the public at large will ordinarily require or entitle the repository of the power to have regard to the interests of that individual"?
Question 2: Can it be said that the "principles of natural justice apply not only when the decision maker is bound to consider the interests of an affected individual; they apply equally when the decision maker is entitled to take those interests into account"?
Question 3: Can it be said that "a decision maker, in whom is reposed a very general statutory power or discretion, can reduce the standard of procedural fairness to "nothingness" simply by deciding that the interests of those affected are irrelevant"?
The HCA answered those questions as follows: