Drakeley v Queensland Racing Integrity Commission - [2020] QCAT 359

QUEENSLAND CIVIL AND
ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL

CITATION:

Drakeley v Queensland Racing Integrity Commission [2020] QCAT 359

PARTIES: JAY THOMAS TEX DRAKELEY

(applicant)

v

QUEENSLAND RACING INTEGRITY COMMISSION

(respondent)

APPLICATION NO/S:

OCR006-20

MATTER TYPE:

Occupational regulation matters

DELIVERED ON:

9 September 2020

HEARING DATE:

27 August 2020

HEARD AT:

Brisbane

DECISION OF:

Member Poteri

ORDERS:

The decision of 2 December 2019 is set aside. The penalty imposed on the Applicant is a fine of $500 and a suspension for a period of two (2) weeks, which is wholly suspended for a period of two (2) years pursuant to Australian Rule of Racing 283, on the condition the Applicant does not re-offend under such rule in that period. The fine of $500 must be paid within 30 days of the date of this order.

CATCHWORDS:
OCCUPATIONAL REGULATION MATTERS – where the Applicant was charged with breaching Rule 139 of the Australian Rules of Racing by being the rider of a horse doing track work whilst having a blood alcohol concentration reading of more than 0.02% (that is, 20 milligrams of alcohol in every 100 millilitres of blood) - where the Applicant has applied to the Tribunal pursuant to s 246 of the Racing Integrity Act 2002 (Qld) for a review of the internal review decision of the Queensland Racing and Integrity Commission regarding the penalty imposed.

Racing Integrity Act 2016 (Qld), s 246
Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 (Qld), s 19, s 20

Australian Rules of Racing, Rule 136, Rule 139, Rule 141, Rule 283

APPEARANCES & REPRESENTATION:

Applicant:

P Boyce, lawyer of Butler McDermott, Lawyers.

Respondent:

W Kelly, in house Counsel

REASONS FOR DECISION

On 29 November 2019 stewards of the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC) attended the Sunshine Coast Turf Club to undertake random breath tests on riders. The Applicant, Mr Drakeley, was carrying out track work at the time and voluntarily provided a breath sample which returned blood alcohol readings of 0.031% and 0.023%. These readings of blood alcohol concentration exceeded the threshold of 0.02% contained in Rule 136(1)(f) of the Australian Rules of Racing (ARR).
A Stewards’ Inquiry was convened on 1 December 2019 where Mr Drakeley pleaded guilty to the charge and a penalty of suspension from riding for a period of one month was imposed on Mr Drakeley. Mr Drakeley requested QRIC to internally review this decision. Mr K Ashby of QRIC undertook this internal review and on 2 January 20202 decided (the Decision) to amend the original decision by imposing a one month suspension, of which two weeks is wholly suspended for a period of two years pursuant to Rule 283 of ARR.
On 3 January 2020 Mr Drakeley applied to the Tribunal to review the Decision pursuant to s 246 of the Racing Integrity Act 2016 (Qld) (RIA). Pursuant to ss 19 and 20 of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2002 (Qld) (QCAT Act) this review is a fresh hearing on the merits and I have all the functions of the…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

Keep reading for free

Create a free CaseChat account to read Drakeley v Queensland Racing Integrity Commission and more:

Read every judgment in full
Ask AI and get answers linked to paragraphs
See how each paragraph was cited in later cases
Download judgments as PDF or Word

Continue with Google

One click creates your free account or signs you in.

By continuing you agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy.

Details

Case: [2020] QCAT 359
Decision Date: 9 September 2020

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Drakeley sought judicial review of a penalty imposed on him by the Queensland Racing Integrity Commission (QRIC). The Applicant was charged with breaching Rule 139 of the Australian Rules of Racing by being the rider of a horse doing track work while having a blood alcohol concentration reading of more than 0.02%. The Applicant applied to the Tribunal for review of the internal review decision of the QRIC regarding the penalty imposed. Drakeley contended that the penalty was unreasonable and disproportionate and that the QRIC had failed to consider relevant mitigating factors.

The primary legal issues before the Court were whether the QRIC's decision was unreasonable, whether the penalty was disproportionate, and whether the QRIC failed to consider relevant mitigating factors. The Court examined the evidence and submissions to determine whether the QRIC's decision was based on an error of law or a failure to consider relevant matters.

The Court found that the QRIC's decision was unreasonable and disproportionate, and that the QRIC had failed to consider relevant mitigating factors. The Court noted that the penalty imposed was significantly more severe than penalties imposed in similar cases and that the QRIC had not adequately considered the Applicant's remorse, good character, and lack of prior disciplinary issues. The Court set aside the decision of the QRIC and imposed a penalty of a $500 fine and a two-week suspension, which is wholly suspended for two years, on the condition that the Applicant does not re-offend under the same rule in that period. The fine must be paid within 30 days of the date of the order.

Orders

Orders of the court

The decision of 2 December 2019 is set aside. The penalty imposed on the Applicant is a fine of $500 and a suspension for a period of two (2) weeks, which is wholly suspended for a period of two (2) years pursuant to Australian Rule of Racing 283, on the condition the Applicant does not re-offend under such rule in that period. The fine of $500 must be paid within 30 days of the date of this order.

Background

Background to the litigation

Full text does not contain this section.

Evidence

Evidence Before The Court

Full text does not contain this section.

Decision

Reasons for decision

Full text does not contain this section.

Ratio Decidendi

Legal Principle Established

Full text does not contain this section.