MEC v The Public Trustee of Queensland

The case of MEC v The Public Trustee of Queensland involved an appeal against a decision made by a tribunal, which dismissed an application for a declaration about the applicant's capacity. The tribunal had found that the applicant did not have the capacity to make complex financial decisions while subject to an involuntary treatment order. The appeal tribunal found the evidence supported the findings made by the tribunal and dismissed the appeal. Leave to appeal was subsequently refused.

The legal issues that the court was required to decide included whether the tribunal had made an error of law, whether the tribunal had erred in finding that the applicant lacked capacity to make financial decisions, and whether there was evidence to support the tribunal's decision. The court had to consider whether the tribunal's findings of fact were supported by evidence, and whether the tribunal had given sufficient consideration to the applicant's capacity to make financial decisions.

The court found that the tribunal's decision was not an error of law and that the tribunal had not erred in finding that the applicant lacked capacity to make financial decisions. The court held that findings of fact by a tribunal will not usually be disturbed on appeal, particularly if any facts inferred by the tribunal as forming the basis of its finding are capable of supporting its conclusions and there is evidence capable of supporting any inferences underlining such conclusions. The court found that the evidence supported the tribunal's findings and that the tribunal had given sufficient consideration to the applicant's capacity to make financial decisions.

The court dismissed the application for leave to appeal, the application to appeal, and the application to adduce new evidence. The court held that the applicant had not demonstrated that the tribunal's decision was wrong or that there was any new evidence that would change the outcome of the case. The court found that the tribunal's decision was based on a thorough consideration of the evidence and that the applicant had not demonstrated any error of law or fact on the part of the tribunal.