Anderson v Civil Aviation Safety Authority

Anderson sought judicial review of a decision of the Civil Aviation Safety Authority to cancel his pilot's licence. The Federal Court was asked to consider three questions. First, whether the Civil Aviation Safety Tribunal was empowered to consider Anderson's fitness to hold a licence despite his acquittal of breaches of the Civil Aviation Act 1988. Second, whether the Tribunal had erred by considering that Anderson had provided false information to the Department of Veterans Affairs. Third, whether the Tribunal was required to consider the hardship that would result to Anderson if his licence was cancelled.

The Court held that the Tribunal was empowered to consider Anderson's fitness to hold a licence notwithstanding his acquittal of the breaches of the Act. The Tribunal was entitled to consider whether Anderson was a fit and proper person to hold a licence and to decide that question on the evidence before it. The Court also held that the Tribunal was entitled to consider the false information that Anderson provided to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Tribunal was bound to consider whether Anderson would be candid in future dealings with the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the Tribunal was entitled to decide that Anderson had provided false information to advance his own interests. The Court held that hardship was not a relevant consideration for the Tribunal to take into account in deciding whether to cancel Anderson's licence. The Tribunal was entitled to decide that the public interest in ensuring that pilots were fit to hold a licence outweighed any hardship that Anderson would suffer.

The appeal was dismissed. Anderson was ordered to pay the Civil Aviation Safety Authority's costs of the appeal.