Rahman v NewSouth Global Ltd

CITATION:	Rahman v NewSouth Global Ltd [2004] NSWADT 47
DIVISION:	Equal Opportunity Division
PARTIES:	APPLICANT Mohammad Tabibar Rahman RESPONDENT NewSouth Global Ltd
FILE NUMBER:	031003
HEARING DATES:	8/10/2003, 7/11/2003
SUBMISSIONS CLOSED:	11/07/2003
DATE OF DECISION:	03/10/2004
BEFORE:	Innes G - Judicial Member; McDonald O - Member; Quayle C - Member
APPLICATION:	Costs
MATTER FOR DECISION:	Costs
LEGISLATION CITED:	Anti-Discrimination Act 1977
CASES CITED:	Borg v Commissioner, Department of Corrective Services and anor [2003] NSWADT 35
REPRESENTATION:	APPLICANT In person RESPONDENT G Carolan, counsel
ORDERS:	The respondent's applicaiton for costs is dismissed.

1 This is a decision on an application by the Respondent in this matter for the award of costs in its favour, following the dismissal of the Applicants complaint by the Tribunal.

2 The Tribunal heard the evidence in the matter on 8 October 2003, and submissions from the parties on 7 November 2003. It delivered its ex tempore decision in the matter on the same day, and following that delivery the Respondent made its application for costs. The decision on costs was reserved.

BACKGROUND

3 It is helpful to the determination of the decision on costs to appreciate the background to the matter. This is set out in the ex tempore decision referred to above as follows-

"On 7 January 2002 Mr Mohammad Tabibar Rahman, a man of Bangladeshi national origin, lodged a complaint with the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board alleging that he had been discriminated against on the grounds of his race in breach of the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act (the Act). Mr Rahman alleged that the respondent discriminated against him in the marking of his paper in the Professional English Assessment Test (PEAT). This test, which is administered by the respondent on behalf of the NSW Department of Education, is a necessary requisite for a teacher qualified overseas to be able to teach in NSW.

The Anti-Discrimination Board investigated Mr Rahman's complaint, and the President of the Board declined the complaint as lacking in substance pursuant to s 91 (1) of the Act. Mr Rahman exercised his right under s 94 of the Act to have the complaint referred to the Tribunal for determination, and the President of the Board did this on 8 January 2003.

A directions conference in the matter took place on 17 February 2003. At this conference the solicitor representing the respondent, then referred to as the Institute Of Languages of the University of NSW, made an application that the respondent should be Newsouth Global LTD, a fully owned subsidiary of the university, which administers the PEAT test. Both parties agreed to this change, and that direction was made. Following an error in correspondence, where the name of the previous respondent was used, that direction was confirmed at a hearing before the full Tribunal on 9 May 2003. At the same hearing the Tribunal ruled on a summons to produce served by the applicant, and the full hearing date for the matter of 26 May 2003 was vacated. The matter was listed for hearing…