Scott v HREOC

Supreme Court of Queensland. The applicants, Ralph Scott and Sophie Scott, sought judicial review of a decision by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) to publish a report which contained certain allegations against the Scotts. The Scotts argued that the publication of the report constituted a breach of natural justice and the publication of defamatory material. The court was required to determine whether the HREOC had the authority to publish the report under the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth) and whether the publication breached the principles of natural justice or amounted to defamation. The court found that the HREOC had the authority to publish the report under section 11(1)(k) of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975 (Cth). The court also found that the publication did not breach the principles of natural justice as the Scotts had been given an opportunity to make submissions before the report was published. Furthermore, the court found that the allegations in the report did not amount to defamation as they were substantially true and published in good faith. The court dismissed the application for judicial review and ordered the applicants to pay the respondents' costs.