Bradshaw v Moreton Bay Regional Council

The appeal in Bradshaw v Moreton Bay Regional Council concerned a dispute between Ms Bradshaw, the owner of a Neapolitan Mastiff dog named Hank, and the Moreton Bay Regional Council, which had issued a destruction order for Hank following an incident where the dog seriously injured a child. The tribunal had confirmed the Council's decision, but Ms Bradshaw appealed, contending that the tribunal's decision was against the weight of the evidence and that there were errors in the tribunal's consideration of the relevant statutory provisions. The legal issues before the court included whether the tribunal had properly exercised its discretion, whether its findings were against the weight of the evidence, and if the decision was unreasonable or plainly unjust.

The court found that the tribunal had failed to properly exercise its discretion in several respects. The tribunal did not adequately consider Ms Bradshaw's willingness to take additional steps to mitigate risks posed by Hank, such as desexing the dog and making the enclosure childproof. The court also found that the tribunal's findings regarding compliance with the conditions imposed by the Anti-Racism Act were flawed. The tribunal had concluded that Ms Bradshaw would not comply with the conditions, but the court found that this was not supported by the evidence. Furthermore, the tribunal had not considered the additional steps Ms Bradshaw was prepared to take, which were outside the scope of the statutory conditions.

The court concluded that the tribunal's decision was against the weight of the evidence and that there had been a failure to properly exercise discretion. Consequently, the court granted leave to appeal and allowed the appeal. The decision of the tribunal made on 22 December 2017 was set aside, and the destruction order issued by the Council on 23 May 2017 was also set aside.