Pembroke School Incorporated v Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission

The case of Pembroke School Incorporated v Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission involved the Pembroke School Incorporated (the School) and the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC). The dispute centered around the School’s alleged indirect discrimination against a student, Ms F Cowell, who used crutches and found the stairs at the School difficult to navigate. The School was found to have imposed a condition that Ms F Cowell regularly attend classes located upstairs, despite her difficulties. The Court was tasked with deciding whether the decision of the Commission, which found the School had indirectly discriminated against Ms F Cowell, could be re-opened or set aside due to new evidence or alleged fraud by the School.

The legal issues before the Court included whether the Court had the power to re-open or set aside a decision of the Commission under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act (ADJR Act), particularly if the decision was procured by fraud. The Court also had to determine if the new evidence presented, namely the diary of Ms F Cowell, was sufficient to justify setting aside the Commission’s decision or the Court’s judgment. The Court considered whether the delay in presenting this new evidence could be excused and if the interests of justice required a re-opening of the case.

The Court found that the Cowells had not demonstrated any grounds upon which the Court should permit a re-opening of their application under the ADJR Act. The Court held that the new evidence did not substantiate claims of fraud sufficient to justify setting aside the Commission’s decision. The Court also concluded that the motion did not constitute a rare and exceptional case where the interests of justice required re-opening the case. Consequently, the application to re-open the case was dismissed, and the Court upheld the Commission’s decision and its own judgment.

The final orders of the Court were that the application of the Cowells made by notice of motion dated 16 August 2001 was dismissed.