Dr Liau’s work has been cited by the High Court of Australia in Forestry Corporation of New South Wales v South East Forest Rescue Incorporated [2025] HCA 15. The case concerned whether a provision in the Forestry Act 2012 (NSW) enabled “any person” to “bring proceedings… for breaches of environmental legislation..” The court held that the South East Forest Rescue Incorporated, having a ‘special interest in the subject matter’, could maintain proceedings for declaratory and injunctive relief in the Land and Environment Court of New South Wales (LEC), to enforce duties imposed by the Act on the Forestry Corporation, in their conduct of forestry operations.
Gageler CJ, Edeman, Steward, Jagot, and Beech-Jones JJ delivered a unanimous judgement citing Dr Liau’s work, Standing in Private Law (OUP 2023). They held at [9]-[10] that: “Whether or not standing is best conceptualised as a dimension of jurisdiction concerning the persons who are amenable to the exercise of the court's power, or as a plaintiff's power to invoke jurisdiction, standing provides a "liberty of access to the court". The same approach should be adopted to a State law vesting jurisdiction in, and providing access to, a court of a State (such as the LEC). At least so far as public duties and obligations are concerned, ordinarily the vesting in a court of equitable jurisdiction, or the conferring upon a court of equitable powers, means that the court may grant declaratory or injunctive relief to persons who meet the test for standing derived from Boyce v Paddington Borough Council.”
As the court further explained, ‘In Boyce v Paddington Borough Council Buckley J held that, without a relator proceeding, a person could bring proceedings regarding an interference with a public right or to enforce a public duty where either their private rights are interfered with ("the first limb") or they suffer some special damage peculiar to themselves ("the second limb").’
The judgment is available here.