Golden Acres v Queensland Estates Pty Ltd [1969] Qd R 378

Facts: A Queensland (QLD) company appointed Hong Kong (HK) company to negotiate sale of land in QLD. The agency contract included express choice of HK law. After not receiving commission under the contract, HK company sued QLD company in QSC. However, the HK company was not registered as a  real estate agent under a QLD Act, which precluded recovery for remuneration. 

Held: The choice-of-law clause struck down as non-bona fide choice (parties sought to avoid QLD Act). QLD law therefore applied. HK company could not recover the commission. In addition, as a matter of public policy, courts are not going to allow private parties to contract around mandatory legislation.