Smith v Corporation of the Synod of the Diocese of Brisbane & Ors

In the matter of Smith v Corporation of the Synod of the Diocese of Brisbane & Ors, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) addressed a dispute concerning the acceptance and processing of complaints by the Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland. The Applicant alleged discrimination in employment and education on the basis of religion and political opinion. The Respondents sought to have portions of the Applicant's complaint struck out, arguing they were out-of-time and not accepted by the Commission. The central issue before QCAT was whether the entirety of the Applicant's complaint was accepted by the Commission and referred to the Tribunal, and whether there was a valid basis to strike out any part of the complaint under section 47 of the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act 2009.

QCAT found that the Commission had accepted the totality of the Applicant's complaint and referred it to the Tribunal. Despite the Respondents' argument that certain parts of the complaint were out-of-time, the Tribunal held that the Commission's acceptance of the complaint as a whole precluded the application of section 47 to strike out any part of it. The Tribunal reasoned that the Commission's role was to investigate and refer matters to the Tribunal, and once a complaint was referred, the Tribunal had jurisdiction to hear it in its entirety, regardless of whether some parts might have been technically out-of-time.

Consequently, QCAT dismissed the Respondents' application to strike out portions of the Applicant's complaint. The Tribunal concluded that there was no valid basis to exclude any part of the complaint, as the Commission had already accepted it in its entirety and referred it to the Tribunal for hearing. This decision ensures that the Applicant's complaint would be heard in its entirety, without the exclusion of any part based on timing alone.