Church of the New Faith v Commissioner of Pay-roll Tax (Vic) [1983] HCA 40; (1983) 154 CLR 120, the High Court of Australia's decision handed down 27 October 1983, states the Australian legal test for what counts as a religion, decided in a dispute over the Church of Scientology's payroll tax exemption. Its strength is that it is the primary judicial text itself, a binding precedent, accessible through a live case law repository. Its limit is that it is the court's own reasoning on the specific question of legal recognition, not an independent scholarly or theological account of Scientology, which should be sought separately; its test has also been cited in courts and scholarship well beyond the movement it originally concerned.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
The High Court of Australia's 1983 decision, the top tier reflecting the primary judicial text itself, a binding precedent accessible through a live case law repository. Its limit is that it is the court's own reasoning on the specific question of legal recognition, not an independent scholarly or theological account of Scientology, which should be sought separately. NotesDecided 27 October 1983. The judgment states the Australian test of what counts as a religion and is cited well beyond the movement it concerned.
Citation
AuthorHigh Court of Australia
PublisherHigh Court of Australia
Publication Year1983
URLhttps://jade.io/summary/mnc/1983/HCA/40
Source TypeCase law
Claims Backed By This Source (11 claims)
This source backs 11 claims across the atlas. As facts: 9 well-attested. Plus 2 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Sources, 8 claims: 8 well-attested.
- New Religious Movements, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.
- Articles, 1 claims: 1 general references.
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