Lee v Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force

The matter before the court was an application by the plaintiff, Lee, for leave to appeal against a decision of the Appeal Panel of the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Lee, who held a number of firearm licenses and permits, had his licenses revoked by the Commissioner of Police, NSW Police Force. He appealed this decision to the Tribunal, which upheld the revocations except for three cases. The Commissioner appealed to the Appeal Panel, which upheld the Commissioner's appeal in respect of those three cases. Lee sought leave to appeal the Appeal Panel's decision on the basis of alleged errors of law.

The court had to decide whether the Appeal Panel erred in law by concluding that the Tribunal had erred, whether the Appeal Panel erred in failing to remit the matter to the Tribunal having found error, and whether the Appeal Panel's decision was unreasonable. The court considered the necessity for a question of law to justify a grant of leave to appeal, the nature of the Appeal Panel's decision, and whether the decision was open on the evidence.

The court found that the Appeal Panel's decision did not present a question of law that warranted leave to appeal. The Appeal Panel had carefully considered the evidence and the applicable law in reaching its decision, and the court was not satisfied that the Appeal Panel had erred in law or that its decision was unreasonable. The court held that the Appeal Panel's decision was open on the evidence and that there was no basis for the grant of leave to appeal. The application for leave to appeal was refused.