Bridges v Commonwealth

The High Court of Australia considered the dismissal of a member of the Australian Federal Police, Mr. Bridges, following an admission of an offence. The dispute arose when Mr. Bridges sought to withdraw his admission after the Commissioner of Police had decided to dismiss him without holding an inquiry by a board.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Commissioner had the power to dismiss Mr. Bridges without an inquiry, notwithstanding Mr. Bridges' subsequent attempt to withdraw his admission. The Court also had to determine the legal effect of Mr. Bridges' admission and his purported withdrawal of that admission.

The High Court held that the Commissioner's power to dismiss a member without an inquiry, under the relevant regulations, was contingent on the member admitting the offence. Once the admission was made and the Commissioner acted upon it by deciding to dismiss, the admission served its purpose and could not be unilaterally withdrawn to compel an inquiry. The Court reasoned that to allow such withdrawal would undermine the administrative process and the finality of admissions made in such circumstances. The Court found that the regulations did not provide for a right to withdraw an admission once the Commissioner had made a decision based upon it.

The High Court dismissed Mr. Bridges' application for a writ of mandamus.