Syndicate Mortgage Securities Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Police

Syndicate Mortgage Securities Pty Ltd (the applicant) sought judicial review of a decision by the Commissioner of Police (the first respondent) to forfeit property under section 219 of the *Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002* (NSW). The dispute concerned the proper construction and application of this forfeiture provision. The matter was heard in the Court of Appeal of New South Wales.

The central legal issue before the Court of Appeal was whether the Commissioner of Police had the power to forfeit property under section 219 of the *Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002* (NSW) in circumstances where the applicant had not been convicted of any offence. The applicant contended that forfeiture under this section was contingent upon a conviction, and its absence therefore rendered the Commissioner's decision unlawful.

The Court of Appeal considered the text and purpose of section 219. It determined that the provision did not require a conviction for forfeiture to be lawfully made. The Court reasoned that the language of section 219 permitted forfeiture of property that was suspected on reasonable grounds of being proceeds of, or having been used in, or in connection with, an indictable offence, irrespective of whether a person had been convicted of that offence. The Court found no jurisdictional error in the Commissioner's decision.

The summons filed by the applicant was dismissed, and the applicant was ordered to pay the first respondent’s costs in the Court of Appeal.