The Court dismissed the application for a declaration that the applicant, a New Zealand citizen of Tasmanian Aboriginal descent, was not an "alien" under s 51(xix) of the Constitution, holding that while he satisfied the descent and self-identification limbs of the tripartite test from *Mabo v Queensland (No 2)* as required by *Love v Commonwealth; Thoms v Commonwealth*, he failed to prove the mutual recognition limb because his acceptance into an Aboriginal corporation was determined by its directors rather than by elders or others enjoying traditional authority under traditional law and custom. The Court held that a single judge was bound to apply the *Mabo (No 2)* tripartite test and was not free to adopt the alternative test from the *Tasmanian Dam Case*, but also rejected the Minister's contention that the test required proof of recognition by a native title-holding society, finding that such an approach was not mandated by the *Love/Thoms* ratio.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 9 later cases that cite this judgment.