30Conferral of
jurisdiction
(cf LCA 1982, section 65)
(1)
Subject to this Part, the Court sitting in its
General Division has jurisdiction to hear and determine:
(a)
proceedings on any money claim, so long as the
amount claimed, whether on a balance of account or after an admitted set-off
or otherwise, does not exceed the jurisdictional limit of the Court when
sitting in that Division, and
(b)
proceedings to recover detained goods, or to
recover the assessed value of detained goods, so long as the value of the
goods, together with the amount of any consequential damages claimed for their
detention, does not exceed the jurisdictional limit of the Court when sitting
in that Division, and
(b1)
proceedings involving company title home unit
disputes under section 34A, and
(c)
proceedings that, pursuant to any other Act, are
required to be dealt with by the Court sitting in that
Division.
(2)
Subject to this Part, the Court sitting in its
Small Claims Division has jurisdiction to hear and determine:
(a)
proceedings on any money claim, so long as the
amount claimed, whether on a balance of account or after an admitted set-off
or otherwise, does not exceed the jurisdictional limit of the Court when
sitting in that Division, and
(b)
proceedings to recover detained goods, or to
recover the assessed value of detained goods, so long as the value of the
goods, together with the amount of any consequential damages claimed for their
detention, does not exceed the jurisdictional limit of the Court when sitting
in that Division, and
(c)
proceedings involving company title home unit
disputes under section 34A.
(3)
Nothing in subsection (2) prevents proceedings
under that subsection from being heard and determined by the Court sitting in
its General Division.
(4)
In determining an amount for the purposes of
subsection (1) or (2), any interest up to judgment under section 100 of the
Civil Procedure Act 2005 is to be
disregarded.
(5)
If:
(a)
the jurisdictional limit of a Division is
increased, and
(b)
proceedings in which an amount of money is
claimed are pending in the Court when that increase takes
effect,
the Court may, on the application of a plaintiff, make
an order altering the amount specified in the claim to an amount not exceeding
the new jurisdictional limit.
(6)
In this section, admitted set-off, in relation to
proceedings, means set-off admitted by the plaintiff in the originating
process in the proceedings.
s 30: Am 2013 No 6,
Sch 1 [1] [2].
34AJurisdiction in company title
home unit disputes
(1)
The Court has jurisdiction to hear and determine
proceedings involving company title home unit disputes.
(2)
A company
title home unit dispute is a dispute between interested
parties about any of the following matters:
(a)
the health, safety and security of persons
occupying or visiting the land owned by a company title corporation or
residential premises located on that land (including, for example, safety of
children on the premises and waste disposal),
(b)
the common property on the land owned by a
company title corporation (including, for example, parking and vehicle access,
repair and maintenance, design and appearance),
(c)
the use of residential premises located on the
land owned by a company title corporation occupied by a shareholder of the
corporation (including, for example, external appearance of premises or the
keeping of pets),
(d)
the behaviour of persons occupying or visiting
the land owned by a company title corporation or residential premises located
on the land (including, for example, noise),
(e)
the refusal by a company title corporation to
allow a shareholder of the corporation to grant a lease or licence to use or
occupy premises located on the land owned by the
corporation,
(f)
administrative matters relating to the running of
a company title corporation (including, for example,
levies).
(3)
However, a company
title home unit dispute does not include the
following:
(a)
a dispute arising under a residential tenancy
agreement to which the Residential Tenancies Act
2010 applies,
(b)
a dispute arising under a lease to which the
Landlord and Tenant (Amendment) Act
1948 applies,
(c)
a dispute about the sale, transfer or other
disposition of shares in a company title corporation or the forfeiture of such
shares,
(d)
a dispute about any matter that is a superior
court matter within the meaning of the Corporations Act
2001 of the Commonwealth.
Note—
Section 1337E of the Corporations Act
2001 of the Commonwealth confers jurisdiction on the Local
Court in relation to civil matters (other than superior court matters) under
that Act. Examples of superior court matters in relation to company title home
unit disputes include the winding up of a company title corporation or the
oppressive conduct of a company title corporation’s
affairs.
(4)
A company
title corporation is a company registered under the Corporations
Act 2001 of the Commonwealth that is the owner of land if
ownership of a share or shares in that company entitles the owner of the share
or shares to the exclusive use and occupation of residential premises on that
land, but does not include an owners corporation within the meaning of the
Strata Schemes Management Act 2015 or an
association within the meaning of the Community Land
Management Act 1989.
(5)
In determining proceedings involving a company
title home unit dispute, the Court may make any of the following
orders:
(a)
an order requiring a person to do, or refrain
from doing, any act,
(b)
an order for the payment of damages or other
money,
(c)
an order:
(i)
declaring the rights and obligations arising
under a constitution of a company title corporation or any other contract or
agreement, or
(ii)
declaring the meaning of any term of a
constitution of a company title corporation, or of any other contract or
agreement, or
(iii)
declaring that any such term is or is not void,
invalid or otherwise unenforceable.
(6)
However, the Court does not have jurisdiction to
make an order on a money or other claim in the proceedings that would exceed
the jurisdictional limit of the Court under this Part when sitting in the
Division concerned.
(7)
A term of a constitution of a company title
corporation, or of any other contract or agreement, that purports to exclude,
limit or modify the jurisdiction of the Court in relation to company title
home unit disputes is void to the extent that it would otherwise have
effect.
(8)
The provisions of this section are declared to be
Corporations legislation displacement provisions for the purposes of section
5G of the Corporations Act 2001 of the
Commonwealth in relation to the provisions of that Act
generally.
Note—
Section 5G of the Corporations Act
2001 of the Commonwealth provides that if a State law
declares a provision of a State law to be a Corporations legislation
displacement provision, any provision of the Corporations legislation with
which the State provision would otherwise be inconsistent does not apply to
the extent necessary to avoid the inconsistency.
(9)
In this section, interested party means any of the
following:
(a)
a company title corporation,
(b)
a shareholder or former shareholder of a company
title corporation,
(c)
a resident or former resident of premises on land
owned by a company title corporation.
s 34A: Ins 2013 No 6,
Sch 1 [3]. Am 2015 No 50, Sch 4.15.