Gallo and Williams v Department of Natural Resources and Water

Gallo and Williams initiated proceedings against the Department of Natural Resources and Water, contesting review decisions that affected their interests. The case was before the President of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT), who was required to decide on the procedural fairness of the review decisions and the appropriateness of her involvement in the subsequent appeals. The appellants argued that the President should be disqualified due to a potential bias, given her previous involvement in the review decisions.

The central legal issue was whether the President's prior involvement in the review decisions constituted a bias that would prevent her from fairly hearing the appeals. The appellants contended that the President's previous role in the review process meant she had formed opinions that could influence her decision-making in the appeals, thus necessitating her disqualification. The respondent argued that there was no actual bias and that the President could fairly and impartially consider the appeals.

The President concluded that there was a real likelihood of bias due to her prior involvement in the review decisions. She accepted that while there was no actual bias, the perception of bias was significant enough to warrant her disqualification from hearing the appeals. Consequently, she disqualified herself, vacated the scheduled hearing, and ordered the reallocation of the appeals to another member of the tribunal. Additionally, the President ordered the respondent to pay the appellants' costs associated with the mention and the hearing of the application.

In summary, the President disqualified herself from the appeals, vacated the hearing, and reallocated the matters to another tribunal member. The respondent was ordered to pay the appellants' costs for the mention and the hearing of the application.