Cavanagh v Gollschewski

In Cavanagh v Gollschewski, the respondent, a police officer, faced disciplinary proceedings following allegations of misconduct. The matter was referred to the Civil and Administrative Tribunal of Queensland, which ultimately decided to terminate the respondent’s employment. The respondent appealed against this decision, arguing that the Tribunal had erred in disregarding a psychiatric condition as a mitigating factor and that the Tribunal’s discretion to determine the appropriate sanction should be exercised afresh.

The court was required to determine whether the Tribunal had correctly considered the psychiatric condition as a mitigating factor and if the discretion to determine the sanction should be exercised afresh. It was necessary to examine the Tribunal's process in weighing the mitigating factor and the appropriateness of its decision.

The court held that the Tribunal had erred in not properly considering the psychiatric condition as a mitigating factor. The court found that the Tribunal had failed to adequately assess the impact of the condition on the respondent's capacity to understand and adhere to the standards of professional conduct. Consequently, the court concluded that the Tribunal's discretion to determine the appropriate sanction should be exercised afresh. The appeal was allowed, and the matter was remitted to the Tribunal for reconsideration of the sanction.

The orders of the court included allowing the appeal, granting leave to the appellant to appeal from the decision of 28 April 2021, and setting deadlines for further written submissions from both parties. The court also directed that the appeal under s 147 would be decided on the papers after any submissions in writing were received.