McGee v Queensland Building and Construction Commission & Anor

In the matter of McGee v Queensland Building and Construction Commission & Anor, the applicant sought to appeal a decision of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) that refused the applicant's application for costs. The QCAT had found in favour of the applicant in an administrative review matter but declined to award costs to the applicant. The applicant contended that the QCAT erred in its exercise of discretion not to award costs, in the construction of sections 100 and 102 of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009, in the application of Calderbank offer principles, and in omitting to apply or give due consideration to section 105 of the QCAT Act and Rule 86 of the QCAT Rules.

The Court examined whether the QCAT had exercised its discretion incorrectly in refusing to award costs. It found that the QCAT had not erred in its application of the Calderbank principles, as it had considered the reasonableness of the Queensland Building and Construction Commission's (QBCC) actions in rejecting the offer. The Court held that the QBCC was entitled to rely on its expert evidence and that it was not unreasonable for the QBCC to refuse to accept expert evidence that could not conclusively determine whether the applicant should be categorised as a permitted individual. The Court further held that it was not appropriate to conduct a forensic analysis of the evidence at the time of the offer to determine whether the QBCC should have accepted the offer.

The Court concluded that the applicant had not established error by the learned member in dismissing the application for costs, and therefore, leave to appeal was refused. The Court did not consider the second general ground, which was not pursued in the hearing.

ORDERS:
The application for leave to appeal is refused.