Mr v Department of Communities (Child Safety Services)

[2010] QCAT 548

CITATION: MR v Department of Communities (Child Safety Services) [2010] QCAT 548

PARTIES:	MR
v
Department of Communities (Child Safety Services)

APPLICATION NUMBER:   CSR236-09

MATTER TYPE: Children’s matters

HEARING DATE:     1 November 2010

HEARD AT:  Brisbane

DECISION OF: C Endicott, senior member

DELIVERED ON: 1 November 2010

DELIVERED AT:      Brisbane

ORDERS MADE: Application for review dismissed

CATCHWORDS :  CHILD PROTECTION – Review sought of decision imposing conditions on contact – no response from applicant to correspondence from tribunal - early end to proceedings – section 47 Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 – where ongoing review an abuse of process

APPEARANCES and REPRESENTATION (if any):

The hearing took place on the papers in the absence of the parties. 

REASONS FOR DECISION

1. An application was made to the Children Services Tribunal on 29 October 2009 by MR (the applicant) seeking a review of a decision made in March 2009 by the Department of Communities (Child Safety Services) (the respondent) to restrict the contact that the applicant could have with his children, who were in the custody of the chief executive of the respondent, to Fridays rather than Saturdays.  MR sought to have contact returned to Saturdays which suited him due to his work commitments on weekdays.    

2. MR also appeared to seek in this review an outcome that the children be placed with their grandmother.  The issue of the placement of the children did not arise from the decision being reviewed and would not be considered by the tribunal as an issue for determination in the review. 

3. From 1 December 2009 the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (the Tribunal) has replaced the Children Services Tribunal.  Under the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 proceedings pending in the former tribunal are taken to be a proceeding before the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

4. On 10 November 2009 the respondent sent a letter to MR notifying him that a further decision had been made that his contact with the children was to take place on Saturdays for a six week period, if he agreed to attend fortnightly counselling and to submit to random urine screens, and the contact arrangements would be reviewed after 28 November 2009.

5. The decision notified by letter dated 10 November 2009 effectively resulted in the outcome being sought by MR in the review.  A staff member from the registry of the tribunal wrote to MR on 11 May 2010 enquiring if he was satisfied with the contact arrangements and asking if he wanted to withdraw the application for review.  No response was received from MR. 

6. Letters dated 16 July 2010 and 17 August 2010 were sent to MR by a staff member from the registry of the tribunal repeating the request about withdrawal of the review application and informing him that should there be no response from him within 14 days, the application would be referred to a member for dismissal.  No response was received from either of these letters. 

7. Section 47 of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009 gives the tribunal power to bring a proceeding to an early end if the tribunal considers that an application is frivolous, vexatious or misconceived or is lacking in substance or is otherwise an abuse of process. 

8. The decision that MR sought to have reviewed has been effectively overturned by a subsequent decision of the respondent. By 10 November 2009 MR was again able to have contact with his children on Saturdays.  He was given an opportunity in May 2010 to inform the tribunal whether he had any outstanding dissatisfaction about the contact arrangements but he did not respond to the tribunal’s enquiry.     

9. Parties to a proceeding before the tribunal are obliged to act quickly in any dealing relevant to the proceeding.[1]  MR has failed to act quickly, or indeed to act at all, in responding to the letters sent to him about his review application.  The tribunal has an obligation to deal with matters in a way that is accessible, fair, just, economical, informal and quick.[2] It is appropriate in view of those obligations to consider factors relevant to finalising this review given the length of time since the review was commenced and the lack of response from MR to the tribunal enquiries.  

   [1] Section 45 of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009

   [2] Section 3(b) of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009

10. The tribunal finds that the decision under review no longer has any effect as a subsequent decision notified by letter dated 12 November 2009 has placed new contact arrangements into effect for MR.  The review application is therefore lacking in substance and to continue with that review would be an abuse of process.   It is appropriate to bring an early end to the review application without providing MR with an opportunity for an oral hearing given his failure to engage with the tribunal despite three letters providing him with opportunities to respond to the anticipated dismissal of his application.     

11. The review application must be dismissed in accordance with section 47 of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009.