Federal Court of Australia

Seafarms Group Ltd v McMahon [2026] FCA 1699

ORDERS

THE COURT ORDERS THAT:

1.    Pursuant to rule 10.24 of the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth) (‘FCR’):

(a)    the requirements of chapter 2 of the FCR insofar as they concern personal service of the Originating Application and affidavit of Dale Francis Cliff filed 1 October 2026 (‘Documents’) on the First and Second Respondent be dispensed with;

(b)    service of the Documents be effected on the First Respondent by:

(i)    delivering a copy of the Documents, together with a copy of these Orders, by hand to the First Respondent at 1014 Glen Esk Road, Conara, TAS 7211, or if the First Respondent is not in attendance, by leaving the Documents and a copy of these Orders in the letterbox;

(ii)    sending a copy of the Documents, together with a copy of these Orders, by Express Post to the First Defendant at 1014 Glen Esk Road, Conara, TAS 7211; and

(iii)    sending a copy of the Documents, together with a copy of these Orders, by email to mick@brambletye.com.au.

(c)    service of the Documents on the First Respondent be deemed to have been effected seven days after the last of the steps taken in subparagraph (b) is taken;

(d)    service of the Documents on the Second Respondent by:

(i)    delivering a copy of the Documents, together with a copy of these Orders, by hand to the Second Respondent at 3 Karloo Parade, Newport, NSW 2106, or if the Second Respondent is not in attendance, by leaving the Documents and a copy of these Orders in the letterbox;

(ii)    delivering a copy of the Documents, together with a copy of these Orders, by hand to the Second Respondent at 'Building A' Level 6, 1 Homebush Bay Drive, Rhodes, NSW 2138, or if the Second Respondent is not in attendance, by leaving the Documents and a copy of these Orders in the letterbox;

(iii)    sending a copy of the Documents, together with a copy of these Orders, by Express Post to the Second Respondent at 3 Karloo Parade, Newport, NSW 2106;

(iv)    sending a copy of the Documents, together with a copy of these Orders, by Express Post to the Second Respondent at 'Building A' Level 6, 1 Homebush Bay Drive, Rhodes, NSW 2138; and

(v)    sending a copy of the Documents, together with a copy of these Orders, by email to ibrannan@ymail.com.

(e)    service of the Documents on the second respondent be deemed to have been effected seven days after the last of the steps taken in sub-paragraph (d) is taken.

2.    The costs of the application be the applicant’s costs in the proceeding.

Note:    Entry of orders is dealt with in Rule 39.32 of the Federal Court Rules 2011.

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

HALLEY J:

1    By an interlocutory application dated 26 October 2026, the applicant seeks orders to serve the originating application and an affidavit of Dale Francis Cliff filed on 1 October 2026 (Documents) on the first and second respondents by way of substituted service pursuant to r 10.24 of the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Rules). The application is supported by an affidavit of Ms Yasmin Isabella Innis, a paralegal employed by the solicitors for the applicant, sworn 26 October 2026.

2    The applicant is content for the application to be determined on the papers.

3    The Court's power to grant the relief sought arises under r 10.24 of the Rules. The Court's power is discretionary, but the principles guiding the discretion are well-settled.

4    In short, an applicant must establish that (a) it is impracticable to serve the claim and statement of claim on the Defendant in the way prescribed by the Rules, and (b) the steps proposed to be taken by the applicant, instead of service, are reasonably capable of bringing the document to the attention of the person to be served: see for example Commissioner of Taxation v Caratti (No 2) [2018] FCA 1500 at [10] (Colvin J).

5    Ms Innis gives evidence of steps that she has undertaken to confirm the residential addresses of each of the first and second respondents, their email addresses, and, in the case of the second respondent, that he is a current director of InvoCare Australia Pty Ltd. She also gives evidence of unsuccessful attempts made by Sage Management Investigations and Process Serving and Sharman’s Investigations and Process Serving to effect personal service on the first and second respondents, respectively, at their residential addresses and a subsequent unsuccessful attempt to effect personal service on the second respondent at the registered office and principal place of business of InvoCare Australia Pty Ltd.

6    I am satisfied that the applicant has established that it is impracticable to serve the Documents in the way prescribed by the Rules, that is by personal service, and that the proceedings are likely to come to the attention of the first respondent if service is to be effected by:

(a)    delivering a copy of the Documents by hand to the first respondent at 1014 Glen Esk Road, Conara, TAS 7211 or if the first respondent is not in attendance, by leaving the Documents in the letterbox;

(b)    sending a copy of the Documents by Express Post to the first respondent at 1014 Glen Esk Road, Conara, TAS 7211; and

(c)    sending a copy of the Documents by email to mick@brambletye.com.au.

7    I am also satisfied that the applicant has established that it is impracticable to serve the Documents on the second respondent in the way prescribed by the Rules, that is by personal service, and that the proceedings are likely to come to the attention of the second respondent if service is to be effected by:

(a)    delivering a copy of the Documents by hand to the second respondent at 3 Karloo Parade Newport NSW 2106, or if the second respondent is not in attendance, by leaving the Documents in the letterbox;

(b)    delivering a copy of the Documents by hand to the second respondent at 'Building A' Level 6, 1 Homebush Bay Drive, Rhodes, NSW 2138, or if the Second Respondent is not in attendance, by leaving the Documents in the letterbox;

(c)    sending a copy of the Documents by Express Post to the second respondent at 3 Karloo Parade, Newport, NSW 2106;

(d)    sending a copy of the Documents by Express Post to the second respondent at 'Building A' Level 6, 1 Homebush Bay Drive, Rhodes, NSW 2138; and

(e)    sending a copy of the Documents by email to ibrannan@ymail.com.

8    Accordingly, orders pursuant to r 10.24 of the Rules for substituted service are to be made.

Associate:

Dated:    11 November 2026