New South Wales Crime Commission v Ollis

The New South Wales Crime Commission (the Commission) sought to vary or discharge restraining orders previously made against Mr Ollis. The proceedings were heard in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether a single judge of the Court possessed the power, under section 12 of the *Criminal Assets Recovery Act 1990* (NSW), to reconsider the basis of a restraining order made under section 10 of the Act, or whether the only avenue for challenging the restraining order was through an application for an exclusion order under section 25 of the Act.

The Court of Appeal determined that the statutory scheme of the *Criminal Assets Recovery Act 1990* did not grant a single judge the power to vary a restraining order by adding a condition that it was pending a hearing as to the existence of reasonable suspicion that the property was serious crime derived property. The Court reasoned that the power to make ancillary orders under section 12 was not intended to allow for a retrospective review of the grounds upon which the original restraining order was made. Instead, the Act provided a specific mechanism for challenging the validity of a restraining order through an application for an exclusion order under section 25.

The Court of Appeal answered 'no' to the question of whether a single judge had the power to make the variations sought by Mr Ollis. The balance of the proceedings were remitted to the Common Law Division, and Mr Ollis was ordered to pay the Commission's costs in the Court of Appeal.