Silk v Parole Board Queensland

Silk applied for judicial review of a decision made by the Parole Board of Queensland to refuse his application for parole. The Board had issued a decision letter on 4 September 2024, which was served on Silk on 11 October 2024. Silk requested a statement of reasons from the Board on 15 October 2024, but the Board did not provide it within the required timeframe. Silk lodged his application for judicial review on 24 November 2024, identifying a single ground for review. The Board eventually provided a statement of reasons on 3 December 2024, but it contained inconsistencies and errors, such as an incorrect date of decision. The Board also recommended a substance intervention course that was not available at the correctional centre where Silk was held. The court considered four grounds of review, including taking irrelevant considerations into account, failing to take relevant considerations into account, exercising a discretionary power in accordance with a rule or policy without regard to the merits of the case, and exercising a power in a manner so unreasonable that no reasonable person could so exercise the power. The court found that the Board had failed to consider relevant matters and had taken irrelevant matters into account. The court also found that the Board had exercised its power in a manner that was unreasonable. The court set aside the decision of the Board, referred Silk’s application for parole to the Board for further consideration and for a decision according to law, and ordered the Board to pay Silk’s costs of the proceeding. The court also directed the Board to make a decision on Silk’s application for parole within 28 days from the date of the order.