Quach v New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal

The applicant, Mr. Quach, sought to set aside a vexatious proceedings order made against him by the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal. The Court of Appeal of New South Wales was asked to consider this third application to set aside the order.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether it should consider the applicant's latest application to set aside the vexatious proceedings order, given that the matters raised had already been decided in previous judicial review proceedings and no new material had been presented. The Court was required to determine if it had the discretion to decline consideration of the application under section 9(4) of the *Vexatious Proceedings Act 2008* (NSW).

The Court reasoned that section 9(4) of the *Vexatious Proceedings Act 2008* (NSW) permits the Court to decline to consider an application if it is satisfied that the application is frivolous or vexatious, or an abuse of process. In this instance, the applicant was seeking to re-agitate issues that had already been determined by the courts, without raising any new matters. Consequently, the Court concluded that the application was an abuse of process and that it was appropriate to exercise its discretion to decline to consider the application.

The Court of Appeal therefore declined to consider the notice of motion filed on 1 April 2019, which sought to set aside the vexatious proceedings order made on 20 October 2017, and dismissed the notice of motion filed on 23 April 2019.