Brooks v Operator, National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse

The applicant, Brooks, applied to the respondent, the Operator of the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse, seeking redress under the National Redress Scheme for Institutional Child Sexual Abuse Act 2018 (Cth). The respondent refused the application, and subsequently refused an internal review and an application to revoke the refusal. Brooks then sought relief under section 39B of the Judiciary Act 1903 (Cth). The parties agreed that the initial refusal was infected by jurisdictional error, and provided submissions for the exercise of judicial power.

The central legal issue before the court was whether orders promoted by consent, quashing the respondent's decisions and issuing a mandamus for the consideration of the applicant's redress application, should be made. The court found that the parties had agreed on the jurisdictional error and had provided a basis for the exercise of judicial power. The court accepted that the respondent's decisions were infected by jurisdictional error and that the applicant was entitled to have his redress application considered afresh.

Accordingly, the court allowed the application. It ordered that certain documents be placed on the Court file, restricted access to the respondent’s submissions, quashed the respondent's decisions, and issued a writ of mandamus requiring the respondent to determine the applicant's redress application according to law. The court also ordered the respondent to pay the applicant's costs on a party/party basis. Liberty to apply was reserved to the parties regarding orders related to protected information under the Redress Act.