52Attorney‑General must approve objection to the jurisdiction of State and Territory courts

52  Attorney‑General must approve objection to the jurisdiction of State and Territory courts

  An entity must not object on behalf of the Commonwealth to the jurisdiction of a State or Territory court on the basis that it is not a court authorised under section 56 of the Act without the approval of the Attorney‑General.

Note: The High Court has held that section 56 of the Act does not limit the jurisdiction conferred on State courts by subsection 39(2) of that Act, but enables the Commonwealth to object to a court proceeding which is not authorised under section 56: Breavington v Godleman [1988] HCA 40; (1988) 169 CLR 41. An objection is normally only to be taken if the Commonwealth is prejudiced by the plaintiff’s choice of court (for example, due to the location of witnesses or differences in applicable law).