Mohareb v Health Care Complaints Commission

Mohareb (Applicant) appealed to the Court of Appeal of New South Wales against orders made by Weinstein J. The dispute concerned the validity of a review decision made by the Health Care Complaints Commission (Respondent) on 25 November 2022.

The primary legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the Respondent's review decision was invalid due to a lack of rational foundation. This specifically involved determining whether the Respondent misunderstood the nature and function of the NSW Health Liability Panel, particularly in relation to whether "formal proceedings" were underway before the Panel at the time the review decision was made.

The Court of Appeal, by consent of the parties, set aside the orders of Weinstein J. It declared the Respondent's review decision of 25 November 2022 to be invalid, finding that it lacked a rational foundation because the Respondent had misunderstood the nature and function of the NSW Health Liability Panel as a body before which formal proceedings were underway. The Court also ordered the Respondent to pay the Applicant's costs. The Summons seeking leave to appeal was dismissed, as was the Summons filed in the court below.