Badari v Minister for Territory Families and Urban Housing

[2025] HCA 47
Judgment date
Case number
D7/2025
Before
Gageler CJ, Gordon, Edelman, Steward, Gleeson JJ
Catchwords

Statutes – Construction – Housing Act 1982 (NT), s 23 – Power of Minister to make determinations regarding rent to be paid for dwelling or class of dwelling – Where rent determined by Minister is to be paid despite anything to the contrary in existing tenancy agreement – Where Minister made determinations without giving notice to any tenant or inviting any tenant to make submissions on the proposed change in rent – Whether Minister owed duty to afford procedural fairness – Whether content of duty to afford procedural fairness included obligation to give hearing – Whether failure to afford procedural fairness was material – Whether determinations were legally unreasonable.

Words and phrases – "content", "determination", "duty of procedural fairness", "eligible person", "fair rent", "general policy", "individual rights and interests", "judicial review", "landlord", "lease", "legal unreasonableness", "let a dwelling", "materiality", "natural justice", "not adequately housed", "prior notice", "procedural fairness", "public housing", "rebate", "remote communities", "rent", "residential accommodation", "safety net", "statutory power", "submissions", "tenancy agreement", "tenant".

Housing Act 1982 (NT), ss 6, 14, 15, 16, 17, 23, 34, 37.

Housing Regulations 1983 (NT), regs 3, 4, 5.

Residential Tenancies Act 1999 (NT), ss 3, 41, 42, 46.