Bolton v Health Care Complaints Commission (No 2) [2024] NSWCATOD 38

Bolton v Health Care Complaints Commission (No 2) [2024] NSWCATOD 38

The applicant was unsuccessful in the reinstatement proceedings, the matter is within a costs jurisdiction where costs ordinarily follow the event, and the applicant's financial hardship alone was not a proper basis to depart from that rule. As the Commission participated as a public interest respondent and there was no identified disentitling conduct, the applicant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs as agreed or as assessed.

Jurisdiction
Australia
Judgment Date
25 March 2024
Procedural Posture
Costs Decision in Occupational Discipline Reinstatement Proceedings Concerning Optometry / After Dismissal of the Applicant's Application for Reinstatement to the Register of Optometrists; Costs Determined on the Papers
Outcome
A hearing was dispensed with and the applicant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs as agreed or as assessed.
Legal Topics
['optometry' 'reinstatement to Register of Optometrists' 'costs Follow the Event' 'financial Hardship' 'determination on the Papers' 'public Interest Respondent']
['administrative Law' 'health Practitioner Regulation' 'professions and Trades' 'costs'] ['optometry' 'reinstatement to Register of Optometrists' 'costs Follow the Event' 'financial Hardship' 'determination on the Papers' 'public Interest Respondent']

Case Brief

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Procedural Posture

Costs Decision in Occupational Discipline Reinstatement Proceedings Concerning Optometry / After Dismissal of the Applicant's Application for Reinstatement to the Register of Optometrists; Costs Determined on the Papers

Legal Issues

  1. 1 ['Whether the Tribunal should dispense with a hearing and determine costs on the papers.' "Whether the applicant should pay the respondent's costs of the proceedings as agreed or as assessed despite his financial hardship."]

Ratio Decidendi

The applicant was unsuccessful in the reinstatement proceedings, the matter is within a costs jurisdiction where costs ordinarily follow the event, and the applicant's financial hardship alone was not a proper basis to depart from that rule. As the Commission participated as a public interest respondent and there was no identified disentitling conduct, the applicant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs as agreed or as assessed.

Court Disposition

A hearing was dispensed with and the applicant was ordered to pay the respondent's costs as agreed or as assessed.

Orders

  • ['A hearing is dispensed with.' "The applicant is to pay the respondent's costs as agreed or as assessed."]