Hailey & Anor. v Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty. Ltd

The applicants, Hailey and another, sought to set aside consent orders that had been entered as judgments in proceedings against Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty. Ltd. The matter came before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether consent orders, once entered as judgments, could be set aside in proceedings that were ostensibly for a review of a Registrar's decision. The Court was required to consider the circumstances under which such a significant step as setting aside a consent judgment might be permissible, particularly in the context of a review of a procedural decision.

The Court reasoned that setting aside a consent order, which represents an agreement between the parties, requires strong considerations of justice. It was held that the proceedings for review of the Registrar's decision were not the appropriate forum for seeking to set aside the consent orders. The Court emphasised that the usual avenues for challenging consent orders, such as an application to the court that made the orders, would be more appropriate, and even then, strong grounds would be necessary.

Consequently, the application for leave to appeal was dismissed with costs.