Calanca v Parole Board Queensland

In the matter of Calanca v Parole Board Queensland, the applicant, a prisoner who was serving a life sentence for murder, challenged the decision of the Parole Board of Queensland to cancel his parole, arguing that the decision was an improper exercise of power. The applicant's parole was suspended on 5 January 2023, and the Board subsequently confirmed this decision on 9 January 2023. The applicant argued that the Board's decision to cancel his parole was unreasonable and based on irrelevant considerations.

The legal issues before the court included whether the Board had taken into account irrelevant considerations, failed to consider relevant ones, acted according to policy without regard to the merits of the case, or made a decision so unreasonable that no reasonable person could have made it. The court examined the Board's reasons for its decision, focusing on the applicant's failure to disclose intimate relationships and comply with other parole conditions. The court found that the Board's decision was justified by the applicant's admitted failures to comply with the parole conditions, which were relevant to the Board's belief that the applicant posed an unacceptable risk of committing an offence.

The court also rejected the applicant's argument that the Board had taken into account irrelevant considerations by examining a schedule he provided for the week commencing 1 January 2023. The court found that the Board had relevant information showing that the applicant's relationship had ended prior to his submission of the schedule, making the schedule's accuracy a material consideration in determining if condition (r) had been complied with. The court concluded that the Board's decision to cancel the applicant's parole was not an improper exercise of power and dismissed the application.

The final order of the court was to dismiss the application, affirming the Board's decision to cancel the applicant's parole.