Deputy Commissioner of Taxation v Meredith (No 2)

The Deputy Commissioner of Taxation (the Commissioner) sought to vary an earlier consent order made by the Supreme Court of New South Wales. The dispute concerned the procedure for entering judgments and orders, specifically under the former Supreme Court Rules 1970 (NSW) and the current Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), and the court's power to vary an order after it had been entered. The appeal was heard by Giles JA, Ipp JA, and Basten JA.

The central legal issues before the court were whether the Commissioner had the power to seek a variation of the consent order after it had been entered, and if so, under what circumstances such a variation could be granted. This involved an examination of the principles governing the variation of entered orders at general law and under the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW), particularly rule 36.11 concerning the entry of judgments and orders on the court's computerised record system and rule 36.16 which addresses the variation of orders following entry.

The court reasoned that the Commissioner's application to vary the consent order was not permissible under the relevant rules and general law principles. The court noted that once an order is entered, it is generally final and cannot be reopened or varied except in limited circumstances, such as where there has been a clerical mistake or an error arising from an accidental slip or omission. The court found that the grounds advanced by the Commissioner did not fall within these exceptions, and therefore, the court lacked the authority to vary the entered consent order.

Consequently, the court dismissed the Commissioner's motion and ordered that the respondent pay the Commissioner's costs of the motion.