The Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police v Zhang and Xing

The applicant, the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, brought an application seeking to revoke a restraining order or to exclude certain property from the restraining order in relation to criminal proceedings against the two defendants, Zhang and Xing. The restraining order had been made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Cth) in respect of property that was suspected to be the proceeds of crime. Zhang was unrepresented in the proceeding, and Xing was represented by counsel but was unprepared to proceed with the application. The court was required to decide whether to grant the application, and if so, on what terms. The court also had to decide whether to grant an order for costs to be thrown away, as Xing was unprepared to proceed with the application.
The court found that the applicant had made out a prima facie case for revocation or exclusion of the property from the restraining order. The court considered that it was appropriate to grant an adjournment to allow Zhang to obtain legal representation and to allow Xing to prepare for the hearing. The court also found that Xing's failure to proceed with the application was a result of his own conduct and not due to any fault or neglect on the part of the applicant. The court considered that it was just and equitable to make an order for costs to be thrown away in respect of the application, as Xing had failed to proceed with the application without any reasonable excuse. The court made an order for costs to be thrown away and granted an adjournment to allow Zhang to obtain legal representation and for Xing to prepare for the hearing.

No final orders have been made in this matter as the matter is still pending before the court.