Queensland Police Service Weapons Licensing v Fowkes

The Queensland Police Service Weapons Licensing (QPSWL) appealed against a decision of the Weapons Licensing Tribunal, which had dismissed an application to strike out a review lodged by Fowkes. The dispute centred around a decision made by QPSWL, which had exempted Fowkes from certain provisions of the Weapons Act 1990 (Qld) for the purposes of ANZAC Day 2016, subject to conditions. Fowkes subsequently lodged an application for review after ANZAC Day. QPSWL applied to strike out the review, but this application was dismissed. The primary issue before the court was whether the tribunal had erred in dismissing QPSWL’s application to strike out the review.

The court held that the tribunal had indeed erred in law by dismissing the application to strike out. The tribunal had incorrectly found that it had jurisdiction to hear the review after ANZAC Day, given that the exemption in question had already been issued and the conditions attached to it had already been fulfilled. The court found that the tribunal had misconstrued the scope of its jurisdiction under the Weapons Act 1990 (Qld). Given the error of law, the court granted leave to appeal and allowed the appeal, setting aside the decision of 20 September 2016 and dismissing the proceeding GAR172-16.