Drage v Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service

Drage v Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service involved the applicant seeking judicial review of decisions made by the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service. The applicant contested the hospital’s decisions, which led to a dismissal of the review application. The hospital, as the respondent, argued it should receive its costs under the general rule that costs follow the event. In contrast, the applicant contended that special or exceptional circumstances warranted a departure from this general rule, or that each party should bear its own costs due to the public interest nature of the proceeding.

The court needed to determine whether the general rule that costs follow the event should apply, or if there were special or exceptional circumstances justifying a departure from this rule. Additionally, the court had to consider whether the proceedings involved an issue of public interest that warranted each party bearing its own costs.

The court found that the proceedings did involve an issue of public interest, which justified a departure from the general rule that costs follow the event. It was determined that each party should bear its own costs of the proceedings, as provided for in section 49(1)(e) of the Judicial Review Act 1991 (Qld). Therefore, neither party was entitled to costs from the other.

Each party to the review was ordered to bear their own costs pursuant to section 49(1)(e) of the Judicial Review Act 1991 (Qld).