Kay v Attorney-General for the State of Victoria

In the matter of Kay v Attorney-General for the State of Victoria, the applicant, Kay, sought to set aside a vexatious litigant order and obtain leave to lodge an appeal with the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The dispute involved the applicant's access to documents held by the Victims of Crime Assistance Tribunal, and the vexatious litigant order restricted their ability to initiate proceedings in certain courts without prior leave. The case was heard in the Supreme Court of Victoria.

The legal issues before the court were whether there had been a relevant change in circumstances since the vexatious litigant order was made, and whether the proposed proceeding was foredoomed to fail. The court had to consider the criteria for setting aside a vexatious litigant order under section 21(4) and (5) of the Supreme Court Act 1986 (Vic), which require a change in circumstances that is both significant and demonstrates a likelihood of future proceedings being non-vexatious. Additionally, the court had to determine whether the proposed proceeding was bound to fail, which would render the application for leave to appeal moot.

The court found that the applicant had not demonstrated a significant change in circumstances since the vexatious litigant order was made. The court held that the applicant's proposals for obtaining access to the documents did not constitute a significant change, as they would still require the court's intervention and did not address the underlying issues that led to the vexatious litigant order. The court also determined that the proposed proceeding was foredoomed to fail, as it would not succeed in obtaining the desired outcome of access to the documents. As a result, the application for leave to lodge an appeal was refused.

The court made no orders for costs, and the application for leave to appeal was dismissed.