Section 51(i) of the Constitution of Australia

Section 51(i) of the Australian Constitution enables the Parliament of Australia to make laws about:

Trade and commerce with other countries, and among the States;

The meaning of trade and commerce is clarified in section 98 of the Constitution which provides

The power of the Parliament to make laws with respect to trade and commerce extends to navigation and shipping, and to railways the property of any State.

"Trade" and "commerce" have been broadly construed. The early case of W & A McArthur Ltd v Queensland, declared:

"Trade and commerce" has been subsequently held to include:

• financial transactions;
• Federal participation in trade and commerce;
• peripheral matters, such as the employment conditions of workers involved in such activity ; and
• the absolution prohibition of a specific trade.

However, the High Court has also ruled that a distinction must be maintained between interstate trade and trade that is strictly within a State. In Wragg v New South Wales, Dixon J. remarked:

But the distinction between interstate and intrastate activity is not absolute. In Airlines of New South Wales Pty Ltd v New South Wales (No 2), Menzies J. noted:

To that end, it has been held:

• that s. 51(i) covers both interstate and intrastate activities where they are "inseparably connected";
• but the fact that an intra-state journey may economically be required to assure the operation of an interstate service has not been sufficient to allow the Commonwealth to regulate the entirety.

Section 92 states (in part) that:

In the case of James v Commonwealth, which expanded on the previous ruling of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in James v Cowan, the High Court decided that this requirement restricted the Commonwealth Parliament as well as State Parliaments, thus greatly affecting the Parliament's authority under s. 51(i). In their judgement, Evatt and McTiernan JJ stated:

• Commerce Clause (United States' Constitution)
• Section 91(2) of the Constitution Act, 1867 (Canadian Constitution)

• Carney, Gerard (1991). "The Re-interpretation of Section 92: The Decline of Free Enterprise and the Rise of Free Trade". Bond Law Review. 3 (2). Bond University: 149–173. doi:10.53300/001c.5208. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
• Gray, Anthony (2008). "Reinterpreting the trade and commerce power" (PDF). Australian Business Law Review. 36 (1). Thomson Reuters (Professional) Australia Limited: 29–46. Retrieved 5 September 2012.