AD v Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police (No 2)

The applicant, AD, sought to set aside or vary a judgment of the Court of Appeal, which had summarily dismissed AD's appeal. The Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police was the respondent. The core of the dispute concerned whether the Court of Appeal should reconsider its earlier decision to summarily dismiss AD's appeal, and whether AD's submissions and authorities relevant to that dismissal application had been adequately considered.

The Court of Appeal was required to determine whether it had jurisdiction to entertain the application to set aside its own prior judgment. Furthermore, it had to consider whether, in the circumstances, it was appropriate to do so, particularly in light of the applicant's assertion that their submissions and relevant authorities had not been properly considered during the initial summary dismissal application.

The Court of Appeal dismissed the notice of motion. The Court found that it did not have the power to set aside or vary its own judgment once it had been perfected. The principles applied were those relating to the finality of judgments and the limited circumstances in which a court may revisit its own decisions, which were not met in this instance. The Court concluded that the applicant had not demonstrated any basis for the Court to reconsider its prior order.