Australian Prudential Regulation Authority v TMeffect Pty Ltd [2018] FCA 508

FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority v TMeffect Pty Ltd [2018] FCA 508 Appeal from: TMeffect Pty Limited v Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (Administrative Appeals Tribunal, No. 2016/3643, 22 June 2017)

File number: NSD 1206 of 2017

Judge: PERRY J

Date of judgment: 13 April 2018

Catchwords: ADMINISTRATIVE LAW – appeal from the Administrative Appeals Tribunal under s 44 of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth) – where the Tribunal allowed consent for the use or assumption of the restricted word "bank" under s 66 of the Banking Act 1959 (Cth) – whether the Tribunal erred in failing to apply policy guidelines for the implementation of s 66 – where Guidelines were valid and not inconsistent with the Banking Act 1959 (Cth) – where the Tribunal erred in failing to take the policy guidelines into account as mandatory relevant considerations – where the Tribunal failed to engage in an active intellectual manner with the policy guidelines – whether the Tribunal ignored as an irrelevant consideration the inherent riskiness of equity crowdfunding – appeal allowed STATUTORY INTERPRETATION – construction of the implied power vested in APRA to grant consent to use restricted word under s 66 – consideration of principles of statutory construction where discretion strikes balance between competing interests – where the Tribunal misconstrued s 66 of the Banking Act 1959 (Cth)

Legislation: Acts Interpretation Act 1901 (Cth), s 15AA Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth) s 44 Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 (Cth) ss 8, 9, 11, 16, 17 Banking Act 1959 ss 51B, 51C, 66 Corporations Amendment (Crowd-sourced Funding) Act 2017 (Cth) Crimes Act 1914 (Cth) s 4B