The Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police v Revell-Reade

The Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police applied to the Supreme Court of Queensland for the registration of a foreign confiscation order made in the UK pursuant to section 6 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (UK). The confiscation order was made against the defendant, Revell-Reade, for sums totalling over AUD 2.4 million. The Commissioner sought registration of the order in Australia under section 15 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth). The application was brought before the Supreme Court of Queensland, which has jurisdiction to hear matters related to the proceeds of crime.

The legal issues that arose in this case were whether the Supreme Court of Queensland had the necessary jurisdiction to register the foreign confiscation order and whether the court should exercise its discretion to register the order. The Commissioner argued that the Supreme Court had jurisdiction, given that it is a court with "proceeds jurisdiction" under the Australian Act. The Commissioner further argued that the court should exercise its discretion to register the order, as there were no points of principle that would prevent the registration. Revell-Reade opposed the application on various grounds, including that the court should not exercise its discretion to register the order due to the absence of an appeal process in the UK.

The court held that the Supreme Court of Queensland had the necessary jurisdiction to register the foreign confiscation order, as it was a court with "proceeds jurisdiction" under the Australian Act. The court noted that the absence of an appeal process in the UK did not necessarily preclude the registration of the order, as the UK proceedings were fair and the order was final. The court exercised its discretion to register the order, as there were no points of principle that would prevent the registration. The court found that the registration of the order was in the public interest, as it would help to recover the proceeds of crime and prevent the defendant from benefiting from his criminal conduct.

The Supreme Court of Queensland granted the Commissioner's application for the registration of the foreign confiscation order. The court ordered that the order be registered in Australia, and that the defendant pay the costs of the application. The court further ordered that the defendant provide information regarding any assets held in Australia that could be used to satisfy the confiscation order. The court noted that the registration of the order would not prejudice any other proceedings that the defendant may have in Australia, and that the order would remain in effect until the defendant satisfied its terms.