In its November 2016 decision in Aurukun Bauxite Development Pty Ltd. & Anor v. State of Queensland, the Supreme Court of Queensland maintained Australia’s non-interventionist approach to the judicial review of government contracting decisions. The case involved a tendering process for a bauxite resources development project. A losing bidder brought an application for judicial review to legally challenge the process. The court cited prior Australian case law that recognizes government contracting as “governed entirely by the law of contracts, not by the statutes” and concluded that the Judicial Review Act did not apply to the government’s bidding process. It therefore dismissed the case.
