Macedonian Orthodox Community Church St Petka Incorporated v His Eminence Petar The Diocesan Bishop of The Macedonian Orthodox Diocese of Australia and New Zealand

Trusts – Trustees – Judicial advice – Charitable trust – Entitlement of trustee to advice that it would be entitled to defend itself against allegations of breach of trust – Entitlement of trustee to advice that it could fund its defence from trust property.

Trusts – Trustees – Judicial advice – Power of Supreme Court – Trustee Act 1925 (NSW), s 63(1) – Limitations on power to give advice – Nature of advice – Power to revoke order providing advice – Effect of revocation.

Trusts – Trustees – Judicial advice – Factors relevant to discretion of Supreme Court to give advice under s 63 of Trustee Act 1925 (NSW) – Whether advice in best interests of trust – Whether trustee’s financial position irrelevant – Whether Court required expressly to undertake exercise balancing advantages to trust in giving advice against disadvantages – Relevance of adversarial character of proceedings.

Charities – Trustees – Judicial advice – Relevance of public benefit in giving advice.

Practice and Procedure – Appeal from discretionary decision – Necessity of intermediate appellate court identifying particular House v The King (1936) 55 CLR 499 error – Whether error shown where trial judge said not to "expressly" consider particular matters not put at trial.

Words and phrases –"all expenses incurred", "question respecting the management or administration of the trust property".

Rules of Supreme Court 1883 (UK) – O 55 r 3.

Trustee Act 1925 (NSW) – ss 59(4), 63, 85, 93(3).