DVT v Commissioner of Police (No 2)

In the case of DVT v Commissioner of Police (No 2), the applicant sought remedies following a decision of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal of New South Wales. The dispute arose from an earlier decision where the applicant's application for judicial review of a police decision was dismissed. The applicant now sought remedies for that dismissal, which the Tribunal had ordered be decided on the papers. The Commissioner of Police opposed this, arguing the remedies should be decided at a hearing rather than on the papers. The matter came before the Tribunal to determine the appropriate procedure.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the hearing as to remedies should proceed on the papers or by way of a hearing. The Tribunal had to consider the requirements of section 50 of the Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2013 in this regard. Specifically, the Tribunal had to decide if the application for a hearing on the papers met the statutory criteria for such a hearing, and if the interests of justice required a hearing to be conducted.

The Tribunal found that the application for a hearing on the papers met the statutory criteria under section 50 of the Act. The Tribunal considered the nature of the remedies sought and the complexity of the issues, and concluded that a hearing on the papers would be sufficient. The Tribunal further found that the interests of justice did not require a hearing to be conducted. The applicant was given an opportunity to respond to the Commissioner's submissions, and the Tribunal scheduled the determination of the remedies to be on the papers after a specified date.

The Tribunal made several orders to facilitate the process. The Commissioner was allowed to submit further written submissions on the remedies sought by the applicant. The applicant was then given a chance to respond to these submissions. The Tribunal determined that if the Commissioner did not file further submissions, the applicant would not be able to file any further written submissions. Finally, the Tribunal scheduled the determination of the remedies to be on the papers after a certain date, irrespective of whether any further submissions were received from the parties.