Lucinda Brabazon (led by Scott Mcleod KC) provided written submissions for the Respondent, instructed by Resources Safety and Health Queensland.
This case concerns whether costs should be awarded to the Appellant (an underground mine manager and Site Senior Executive) following his application for prerogative relief. The application sought review of a decision of an Industrial Magistrate about the allegations made in an appeal of disciplinary proceeding pursuant to the Coal Mining Safety and Health Act 1999 (Qld) which the Appellant instituted against the Respondent (the CEO of Resources, Health and Safety Queensland).
The Appellant sought its costs of the application costs from the Respondent, and the Respondent sought an order as to no costs. After consideration of its general power to award costs pursuant to s 545 of the Industrial Relations Act 2016 (Qld), the Court found for the Respondent, and held that each party should bear their own costs. This decision was made on the basis that it could not be said that the Respondent’s response to the appeal was either taken without reasonable cause or that his defence of the appeal had no reasonable prospects of success, given that he ‘effectively won the appeal’ by establishing that it was incompetent.
The judgment can be read by clicking here
