Deputy Commissioner of Taxation v Vasiliades

The Deputy Commissioner of Taxation brought an application against Vasiliades in the Federal Court, seeking a review of a decision made by the Registrar. The Registrar had ordered Vasiliades, the second respondent, to provide security for costs in relation to an application Vasiliades had filed seeking to set aside a judgment regularly entered. Vasiliades argued that he was not an "applicant in a proceeding" for the purposes of section 56(1) of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth). Vasiliades contended that as he was not an applicant, he should not be required to provide security for costs. The court was required to decide whether Vasiliades, who sought to set aside a judgment regularly entered, qualified as an "applicant in a proceeding" for the purposes of section 56(1) of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth). The court found that Vasiliades was an applicant in a proceeding, as his application to set aside a judgment regularly entered constituted a proceeding within the meaning of section 56(1) of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth). Consequently, Vasiliades was required to provide security for costs. The court set aside the orders made by the Deputy District Registrar on 9 October 2015, ordered Vasiliades to provide security for costs in the sum of $20,000 by 4:00 pm AEDT on 13 November 2015, and stayed the proceeding until the security was provided. The court also ordered that if Vasiliades failed to comply with the security requirement, his application filed on 20 August 2015 would be dismissed. The costs of the application were to be costs in the cause, and Vasiliades was granted liberty to apply.