Riseley v Suncorp Portfolio Services Ltd

The case of Riseley v Suncorp Portfolio Services Ltd concerns the judicial review of a decision by the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal (SCT) to treat certain complaints as if they had been withdrawn because it deemed them to be "lacking in substance". The appellants, Mr and Mrs Riseley, had filed complaints about their superannuation accounts, alleging mismanagement and failure to provide promised insurance policies. The SCT treated the complaints as withdrawn, leading to the present appeal seeking judicial review on the basis of alleged jurisdictional error or error of law by the SCT.

The primary legal issues before the court were whether the SCT had erred in concluding that the complaints were "lacking in substance" and whether its consideration of the evidence in support of the complaints amounted to a review of the complaints on their merits, which was not permitted prior to conciliation. The appellants argued that the SCT's decision to treat the complaints as withdrawn constituted a jurisdictional error, as it had exceeded its authority by making findings of fact that should not have been made at that stage of the proceedings.

The court examined the statutory framework governing the SCT’s jurisdiction and found that the SCT's power to treat a complaint as withdrawn if it deemed the complaint to be "lacking in substance" was within its authority. The court held that the SCT was entitled to consider the evidence in support of the complaints to determine whether they were "lacking in substance". This consideration did not amount to a review of the complaints on their merits, as the SCT's task was limited to assessing whether the complaints had sufficient substance to warrant further proceedings. The court found no error in the SCT's decision, as it had properly exercised its discretion under the Superannuation (Resolution of Complaints) Act 1993 (Cth).

The appeal was dismissed, and the decision of the SCT was upheld. The court ordered that the appeal be dismissed with costs.