CLD v Children's Guardian

The plaintiff, CLD, challenged the decision of the defendant, the Children's Guardian, to cancel their Working with Children clearance in the Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The Tribunal upheld the decision of the defendant, but CLD sought to appeal this decision on the grounds that they were not given the opportunity to make further submissions before the Tribunal confirmed the decision. The plaintiff argued that the Tribunal had failed to provide notice that it intended to confirm the decision without a hearing and did not allow the parties to be heard on the making of an order dispensing with a hearing. The plaintiff further argued that the Tribunal's failure to comply with the statutory requirement of s 50 of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 (NSW) meant that the decision was vitiated.

The court found that the Tribunal had indeed failed to provide the required notice to the parties that it intended to confirm the decision without a hearing and did not allow the parties to be heard on the making of such an order. This failure meant that the decision was vitiated and the matter was remitted back to a differently constituted Tribunal. The court found that it was appropriate to grant the relief sought by consent and that a non-publication order was necessary as the statutory prohibitions did not cover the relevant field. The court concluded that the decision of the Tribunal was quashed and the matter was remitted back to the Tribunal for further consideration.