 Gaudron , and jointly Gleeson , Gummow and Hayne , decided that the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918 validly conferred the jurisdiction to determine disputed elections on the High Court , in its capacity as the Court of Disputed Returns . They said that if Hill 's argument about the structure of the Act were correct , there would be the odd result that the court could hear disputes about a candidate 's eligibility under the Act itself ( which imposes certain requirements for candidates ) , but it would not be able to hear disputes about a candidate 's eligibility under the Constitution . They also said that if only a house of Parliament could dispute a candidate 's constitutional eligibility , then in the time it took for that house to determine the issue , an ineligible candidate would be able to participate in the business of that house , including passing laws and other activities . 
