Chand v RailCorp

Chand appealed to the Supreme Court of New South Wales, Court of Appeal, against a decision of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Appeal Panel. The dispute concerned complaints of sexual harassment and victimisation made by Chand against RailCorp, which had been dismissed by the Tribunal.

The Appeal Panel was required to determine whether it had erred by reconsidering a decision, whether the principles of *res judicata* and issue estoppel applied, and whether it had otherwise erred or denied procedural fairness to Chand. A key procedural issue was whether the Appeal Panel had erred in permitting RailCorp to file a notice of contention out of time.

The Court of Appeal found that the Appeal Panel had not erred in its approach. It held that the Appeal Panel was entitled to reconsider the decision of the Tribunal, and that the principles of *res judicata* and issue estoppel did not preclude this reconsideration in the circumstances. The Court also found that procedural fairness had been afforded to Chand.

The appeal was dismissed, and Chand was ordered to pay RailCorp's costs.