Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander corporations
where application granted on the basis of a list of members that did not include the applicant
Quick Take
1A common law holder under a native title determination who was eligible for membership of a prescribed body corporate at the time of its registration, but whose name was omitted from the list of proposed members, has standing as a 'person aggrieved' under s 5(1) of the ADJR Act to challenge the Registrar's decision to register the corporation, because a direct effect of registration is that persons not specified in the application do not become members and thereby lose membership rights under the CATSI Act.
2Under ss 26-5 and 26-10 of the CATSI Act, the Registrar has no obligation to verify the accuracy or completeness of the list of persons who consent to become members of a proposed ATSI corporation; accordingly, the Registrar's acceptance of an incomplete membership list does not constitute an error of law, a failure to take into account relevant considerations, or a denial of procedural fairness.
3Where an applicant for judicial review became a member of the corporation shortly after its registration and identifies no material prejudice suffered during the intervening period, any relief under the ADJR Act would lack real utility and would be refused on discretionary grounds even if a ground of review were established.
