Chandra v Queensland Building and Construction Commission

Chandra sought leave to appeal against two orders made by the Queensland Building and Construction Commission (QBCC). The first was that Chandra be permanently debarred from holding a licence as a building certifier. The second was that Chandra pay compensation to the homeowners for losses incurred as a result of his actions. Chandra had previously appealed against the first order to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT), which had dismissed his appeal. Chandra sought to extend the time in which he could appeal to the Supreme Court. The Senior Member of QCAT dismissed Chandra's application for an extension of time and his application for leave to appeal against the QCAT's decision.

The central issues were whether Chandra could appeal against the QCAT's refusal to extend the time in which he could appeal to the Supreme Court, and whether he could appeal against the QCAT's dismissal of his application for leave to appeal. The Supreme Court held that Chandra could appeal against the QCAT's refusal to extend time. The QCAT's decision was not one that could be made only by a tribunal constituted with members who had heard the original case. The decision was one that could be made by any QCAT member, and therefore could be made by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court held that Chandra could not appeal against the QCAT's dismissal of his application for leave to appeal. The QCAT's decision to refuse leave to appeal was final, and could not be appealed.

The Supreme Court ordered that the parties could file written submissions about the form of orders and costs by 30 January 2015. If no submissions were filed, the orders would be as proposed in the reasons for judgment of Peter Lyons J.