Laming v Medical Board of Australia
[2013] QCAT 304
•25 June 2013
| CITATION: | Laming v Medical Board of Australia [2013] QCAT 304 |
| PARTIES: | Dr Andrew Laming (Applicant) |
| v | |
| Medical Board of Australia (Respondent) |
| APPLICATION NUMBER: | OCR115-12 |
| MATTER TYPE: | Occupational regulation matters |
| HEARING DATE: | On the papers |
| HEARD AT: | Brisbane |
| DECISION OF: | Judge Alexander Horneman-Wren SC, Deputy President |
| DELIVERED ON: | 25 June 2013 |
| DELIVERED AT: | Brisbane |
| ORDERS MADE: | 1. Dr Laming pay the Medical Board’s costs of and incidental to the proceedings on a standard basis on the District Court scale, in a sum as agreed, or failing an agreement in a sum fixed by the Tribunal. 2. The Medical Board has liberty to apply for the purpose of fixing an amount in accordance with order 1, above. |
| CATCHWORDS: | HEALTH PROFESSIONALS – MEDICAL PRACTITIONERS – LICENCES AND REGISTRATION – where the registrant applied for review of the Board’s decision to refuse his application for specialist registration – where the application for review was dismissed – whether the registrant should pay the Board’s costs of the proceedings Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Queensland), s 201 Laming v Medical Board of Australia [2013] QCAT 102, cited |
APPEARANCES and REPRESENTATION (if any):
This matter was heard and determined on the papers pursuant to s 32 of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 (QCAT Act).
REASONS FOR DECISION
In dismissing Dr Laming’s review application the Tribunal found that there was no utility in the Tribunal granting the relief which Dr Laming sought. The only relief which he sought was an order requiring the Board to give consideration to his original application for registration. The lack of utility lay in the fact that Dr Laming had lodged a subsequent application for registration, then unconsidered by the Board, which raised all the matters which he wanted the Board to consider in deciding whether or not to grant specialist registration.
The Tribunal found that the Board’s decision had thus been the preferable decision.[1]
[1] Laming v Medical Board of Australia [2013] QCAT 102 at [28].
The Tribunal also observed that the Board’s refusal to permit Dr Laming a further period of time in which to place further material before the Board in support of his original application was entirely reasonable given the extensions of time which it had previously given to him.[2]
[2] Ibid at [32].
The Tribunal has a broad general discretion in respect of costs in a matter such as this.[3]
[3] Section 201 Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (Queensland).
The Board is funded, in a large part, by registration fees paid by its members. Its resources are thus limited. Responding to applications such as this consumes some of those limited resources.
The Board should have its costs.
The Tribunal will order that Dr Laming pay the Board’s costs of and incidental to the proceedings assessed on a standard basis on the District Court scale as agreed between the parties. If the parties are unable to agree the Tribunal will fix the costs on application of the Board. The Board has liberty to apply for that purpose.
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