Victoria v Commonwealth (1971) 122 CLR 353, commonly referred to as the Payroll Tax Case, was a case decided in the High Court of Australia regarding the scope of the Commonwealth's taxation power and the extent to which it can burden a state's structural integrity.

The Act was challenged on the grounds that it breached the Melbourne Corporation principles limiting the extent to which the Commonwealth can burden states.

A law that fundamentally restricts their exercise of essential functions would go against the implication of the continued existence of the states.

Windeyer J notes that the increased entry of the Commonwealth in areas of concurrent federal and state power was foreseen early on, and the progressive increased fiscal power of the Commonwealth was indicative of this notion.

This view is particularly persuasive in the environment after Engineers which swept away reserved State powers and the doctrine of intergovernmental immunity.