Quach v New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal (No 2)

The applicant, Mr. Quach, brought a fifth application seeking to set aside a vexatious proceedings order made against him. The proceedings were before the Court of Appeal of New South Wales, with Meagher, Gleeson, and Mitchelmore JJA presiding. The core of the dispute involved Mr. Quach's repeated attempts to challenge the validity of the vexatious proceedings order and the legislation under which it was made.

The Court was required to determine several legal issues. Firstly, it had to consider whether the applicant's assertion of the invalidity of the *Vexatious Proceedings Act 2008* (NSW) by reason of section 109 of the *Constitution* triggered an obligation to provide notice under section 78B of the *Judiciary Act 1903* (Cth). Secondly, the Court needed to assess whether the original application before the Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), which involved disciplinary proceedings, engaged federal jurisdiction. Finally, the Court had to determine if the NCAT's decision was stayed by reason of subsequent proceedings in the Federal Court between the applicant and an insurer.

The Court reasoned that the applicant's contention regarding section 109 of the *Constitution* was frivolous and unarguable, and therefore did not raise a genuine issue concerning the interpretation or application of the *Constitution* or federal law. Consequently, there was no obligation to issue notices under section 78B of the *Judiciary Act*. The Court also found that the original disciplinary proceedings before NCAT did not involve federal jurisdiction, and that subsequent Federal Court proceedings did not operate to stay the NCAT decision. The Court concluded that the applicant's motion constituted an abuse of process.

The Court ordered that the applicant's notice of motion filed on 5 April 2022 be dismissed as an abuse of process, and that the applicant pay the second respondent's costs of the motion.