The Court held that a person who 'feels aggrieved' under s 308(5) of the Companies Act 1961 is not a materially different class from a person who 'is aggrieved' under s 459(6) of the Companies (NSW) Code, and accordingly the Richards reasoning applies equally to s 308(5) reinstatement applications. The Court followed Rocha (No 2) in holding that s 307 of the Companies Act 1961 confers only procedural standing, not an accrued right preserved by s 30(1)(c) of the Interpretation Act 1987, while acknowledging the distinction between s 307 and s 308(5) may be slender. Applying Alcan Gove v Zabic, the Court concluded that a mesothelioma plaintiff's cause of action accrued at the time of initial mesothelial cell changes (shortly after asbestos exposure), meaning the plaintiff had an accrued right to reinstatement before the 2008 repeal even though symptoms did not manifest until 2025.
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