GR v Secretary, Department of Communities and Justice (No 2)

In GR v Secretary, Department of Communities and Justice (No 2), the plaintiff sought to challenge guardianship orders made by the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT) concerning her child. The plaintiff initiated proceedings in the Equity Division of the Supreme Court, invoking the court's parens patriae jurisdiction. The plaintiff subsequently applied to transfer the proceedings to the Common Law Division, asserting that she had exercised her right to appeal NCAT’s decision. However, the proceedings were assigned to the Equity Division under the Guardianship Act 1987 (NSW), and the application to transfer was refused.

The primary legal issues before the court involved the court’s administration, specifically the assignment of business between the Equity and Common Law Divisions. The court was also required to consider whether the plaintiff could use the court's processes to obtain relief, which required leave under the guise of seeking other relief. Additionally, the court had to address the conduct of the parties during the hearing, particularly the plaintiff's serious allegations against a legal practitioner without notice and without relevance to the procedural relief sought.

The court found that the proceedings were correctly assigned to the Equity Division, as the matter fell under the Guardianship Act 1987 (NSW). The court emphasised that no party should misuse the court’s processes to obtain certain relief that requires leave. Moreover, the court underscored that it would not tolerate serious allegations being made against legal practitioners in a manner that was unrelated to the substantive relief sought. Consequently, the application to transfer the proceedings was dismissed.