Tabruby Pty Ltd v Belbrooke Pty Ltd

Tabruby Pty Ltd, along with several other superannuation funds, filed an originating application seeking the appointment of an administrator for a scheme, alleging that Belbrooke Pty Ltd, as trustee for the Belbrooke Administration Trust and the Belbrooke Mortgage Trust, had engaged in a managed investment scheme without proper registration. The case was before the Supreme Court of Queensland, with Treston J presiding over the matter. The primary legal issue was whether the order appointing an administrator to the scheme was final and, if so, whether it could be revisited on the grounds of procedural unfairness due to Mr Houwing's post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The court found that the order was indeed final, and there was no procedural unfairness in its making. The court further concluded that the application to revisit the scheme order was essentially a backdoor appeal, which was not permissible. The application was dismissed on the basis that the scheme order was final and could not be set aside except through appeal or in proceedings for fraud, neither of which applied in this case. The court also noted that even if the order was not final, the application to revisit it should be dismissed on discretionary grounds, given the significant time that had elapsed since the original order was made.