Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria v Meng

The Director of Consumer Affairs Victoria applied to the Supreme Court for leave to appeal against a decision of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT). The Tribunal had declined to make orders cancelling the respondent's licence to operate a brothel. The decision arose from a sex worker operating on the premises who was in breach of her visa conditions. The Director sought to argue that an indictable offence had been committed on the premises, leading to the Tribunal's decision. The legal issues before the court were whether the Tribunal erred in its interpretation of the law and whether there was a breach of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and the Sex Work Act 1994. The Supreme Court found that there was no error of law in the Tribunal's decision and dismissed the application for leave to appeal. The court held that the Tribunal's decision was based on a reasonable interpretation of the law and did not err in failing to find that an indictable offence had been committed. The Supreme Court found that the evidence did not support the claim that an indictable offence had occurred and that the Tribunal's decision was not irrational or unlawful. The final orders of the court were that the application for leave to appeal was dismissed, and the decision of the Tribunal was upheld.