Foreign Judgments Act 1991

Subject to this section, a judgment to which Part 2 applies, or would have applied if it were a money judgment, must, whether or not it is, or can be, registered, be recognised in any Australian court as conclusive between the parties to it in all proceedings founded on the same cause of action and may be relied on by way of defence or counter‑claim in any such proceedings.

This section does not apply to:

a judgment that has been registered, the registration of which has been set aside under subparagraph 7(2)(a)(iv), (v), (vi), (vii) or (xi); or

a judgment (whether registrable or not) that has not been registered, the registration of which would, if it were registered, have been set aside under one or more of those subparagraphs.

Nothing in this section prevents any Australian court from recognising a judgment as conclusive of any matter of law or fact decided in the judgment if that judgment would be recognised as conclusive under the common law.