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This is a Bill, not an Act. For current law, see the Acts databases.
Queensland
Vexatious Proceedings
Bill 2005
Queensland
Vexatious Proceedings Bill 2005
Contents
Page
Part 1 Introduction
1 Short title . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
2 Commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3 Definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
4 Inherent jurisdiction and powers not affected . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Part 2 Vexatious proceedings orders
5 Applications for vexatious proceedings orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
6 Making vexatious proceedings orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
7 Order may be varied or set aside . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
8 Order may be reinstated. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
9 Notification and register of orders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Part 3 Particular consequences of vexatious proceedings orders
10 Vexatious proceedings order prohibiting institution of
proceedings .................................... 8
11 Application for leave to institute a proceeding . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
12 Dismissing application for leave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
13 Granting application for leave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Part 4 Transitional provisions for repealed Vexatious Litigants Act
1981
14 Definitions for pt 4. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
15 Repealed Act continues to apply to applications made before
commencement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
16 Orders under repealed Act taken to be orders under this Act . . . 12
Part 5 Repeal
17 Repeal of Vexatious Litigants Act 1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Schedule Dictionary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
2005
A Bill
for
An Act to restrict vexatious proceedings
s1 4 s5
Vexatious Proceedings Bill 2005
The Parliament of Queensland enacts-- 1
Part 1 Introduction 2
1 Short title 3
This Act may be cited as the Vexatious Proceedings Act 2005. 4
2 Commencement 5
This Act commences on a day to be fixed by proclamation. 6
3 Definitions 7
The dictionary in the schedule defines particular words used 8
in this Act. 9
4 Inherent jurisdiction and powers not affected 10
This Act does not affect any inherent jurisdiction of a court or 11
tribunal or any powers a court or tribunal has other than under 12
this Act to restrict vexatious proceedings. 13
Part 2 Vexatious proceedings orders 14
5 Applications for vexatious proceedings orders 15
(1) Any of the following persons may apply to the Court for a 16
vexatious proceedings order in relation to a person mentioned 17
in section 6(1)(a) or (b)-- 18
(a) the Attorney-General; 19
(b) the Crown solicitor; 20
(c) the registrar of the Court; 21
s6 5 s6
Vexatious Proceedings Bill 2005
(d) a person against whom another person has instituted or 1
conducted a vexatious proceeding; 2
(e) a person who has a sufficient interest in the matter. 3
(2) An application may be made by a person mentioned in 4
subsection (1)(d) or (e) only with the leave of the Court. 5
6 Making vexatious proceedings orders 6
(1) This section applies if the Court is satisfied that a person is-- 7
(a) a person who has frequently instituted or conducted 8
vexatious proceedings in Australia; or 9
(b) a person who, acting in concert with a person who is 10
subject to a vexatious proceedings order or who is 11
mentioned in paragraph (a), has instituted or conducted 12
a vexatious proceeding in Australia. 13
(2) The Court may make any or all of the following orders-- 14
(a) an order staying all or part of any proceeding in 15
Queensland already instituted by the person; 16
(b) an order prohibiting the person from instituting 17
proceedings, or proceedings of a particular type, in 18
Queensland; 19
(c) any other order the Court considers appropriate in 20
relation to the person. 21
22
Examples of another order for paragraph (c)--
23
· an order directing that the person may only file documents
24
by mail
25
· an order to give security for costs
26
· an order for costs
(3) The Court may make a vexatious proceedings order on its own 27
initiative or on the application of a person mentioned in 28
section 5(1). 29
(4) The Court must not make a vexatious proceedings order in 30
relation to a person without hearing the person or giving the 31
person an opportunity of being heard. 32
(5) For subsection (1), the Court may have regard to-- 33
s7 6 s8
Vexatious Proceedings Bill 2005
(a) proceedings instituted or conducted in any Australian 1
court or tribunal, including proceedings instituted or 2
conducted before the commencement of this section; 3
and 4
(b) orders made by any Australian court or tribunal, 5
including orders made before the commencement of this 6
section. 7
7 Order may be varied or set aside 8
(1) The Court may, by order, vary or set aside a vexatious 9
proceedings order. 10
(2) The Court may make the order on its own initiative or on the 11
application of-- 12
(a) the person subject to the vexatious proceedings order; or 13
(b) a person mentioned in section 5(1). 14
8 Order may be reinstated 15
(1) This section applies if-- 16
(a) the Court sets aside a vexatious proceedings order 17
prohibiting a person from instituting proceedings, or 18
proceedings of a particular type, in Queensland; and 19
(b) the Court is satisfied that, within 5 years of the vexatious 20
proceedings order being set aside-- 21
(i) the person has instituted or conducted a vexatious 22
proceeding in an Australian court or tribunal; or 23
(ii) the person has acted in concert with another person 24
who has instituted or conducted a vexatious 25
proceeding in an Australian court or tribunal. 26
(2) The Court may-- 27
(a) by order, reinstate the vexatious proceedings order; and 28
(b) make any other order the Court considers appropriate in 29
relation to the person, including, for example, an order 30
varying the vexatious proceedings order. 31
s9 7 s9
Vexatious Proceedings Bill 2005
(3) The Court may make an order under subsection (2) on its own 1
initiative or on the application of a person mentioned in 2
section 5(1). 3
(4) The Court must not reinstate a vexatious proceedings order in 4
relation to a person without hearing the person or giving the 5
person an opportunity of being heard. 6
9 Notification and register of orders 7
(1) This section applies in relation to-- 8
(a) a vexatious proceedings order; or 9
(b) an order varying or setting aside a vexatious 10
proceedings order; or 11
(c) an order reinstating a vexatious proceedings order; or 12
(d) an order made under section 8(2)(b). 13
(2) The registrar of the Court must arrange for a copy of the order 14
to be-- 15
(a) published in the gazette within 14 days after the order is 16
made; and 17
(b) entered in a publicly available register kept for the 18
purposes of this Act in the registry of the Court at 19
Brisbane within 7 days after the order is made. 20
(3) The registrar of the Court may also arrange for details of the 21
order to be published in another way. 22
23
Example--
24
publication on the Court's website
s 10 8 s 11
Vexatious Proceedings Bill 2005
Part 3 Particular consequences of 1
vexatious proceedings orders 2
10 Vexatious proceedings order prohibiting institution of 3
proceedings 4
(1) If the Court makes a vexatious proceedings order prohibiting 5
a person from instituting proceedings, or proceedings of a 6
particular type, in Queensland-- 7
(a) the person may not institute proceedings, or proceedings 8
of the particular type, in Queensland without the leave 9
of the Court under section 13; and 10
(b) another person may not, acting in concert with the 11
person, institute proceedings, or proceedings of the 12
particular type, in Queensland without the leave of the 13
Court under section 13. 14
(2) If a proceeding is instituted in contravention of subsection (1), 15
the proceeding is permanently stayed. 16
(3) Without limiting subsection (2), the Court, or the court or 17
tribunal in which the proceeding is instituted, may make-- 18
(a) an order declaring that a proceeding is a proceeding to 19
which subsection (2) applies; and 20
(b) any other order in relation to the stayed proceeding it 21
considers appropriate, including an order for costs. 22
(4) The Court, or the court or tribunal in which the proceeding is 23
instituted, may make an order under subsection (3) on its own 24
initiative or on the application of a person mentioned in 25
section 5(1). 26
11 Application for leave to institute a proceeding 27
(1) This section applies to a person (the applicant) who is-- 28
(a) subject to a vexatious proceedings order prohibiting the 29
person from instituting proceedings, or proceedings of a 30
particular type, in Queensland; or 31
(b) acting in concert with another person who is subject to 32
an order mentioned in paragraph (a). 33
s 12 9 s 12
Vexatious Proceedings Bill 2005
(2) The applicant may apply to the Court for leave to institute a 1
proceeding that is subject to the order. 2
(3) The applicant must file an affidavit with the application that-- 3
(a) lists all occasions on which the applicant has applied for 4
leave under-- 5
(i) this section; or 6
(ii) before the commencement of this section, the 7
Vexatious Litigants Act 1981, section 8 or 9;1 and 8
(b) lists all other proceedings the applicant has instituted in 9
Australia, including proceedings instituted before the 10
commencement of this section; and 11
(c) discloses all facts material to the application, whether 12
supporting or adverse to the application, that are known 13
to the applicant. 14
(4) The applicant must not serve a copy of the application or 15
affidavit on any person unless-- 16
(a) an order is made under section 13(1)(a); and 17
(b) the copy is served in accordance with the order. 18
(5) The Court may dispose of the application by-- 19
(a) dismissing the application under section 12; or 20
(b) granting the application under section 13. 21
(6) The applicant may not appeal from a decision disposing of the 22
application. 23
12 Dismissing application for leave 24
(1) The Court must dismiss an application made under section 11 25
for leave to institute a proceeding if it considers-- 26
(a) the affidavit does not substantially comply with 27
section 11(3); or 28
(b) the proceeding is a vexatious proceeding. 29
1 Vexatious Litigants Act 1981, section 8 (Proceedings by or with vexatious litigants
require leave) or 9 (Process by or for vexatious litigants requires leave)
s 13 10 s 13
Vexatious Proceedings Bill 2005
(2) The application may be dismissed even if the applicant does 1
not appear at the hearing of the application. 2
13 Granting application for leave 3
(1) Before the Court grants an application made under section 11 4
for leave to institute a proceeding, it must-- 5
(a) order that the applicant serve each relevant person with a 6
copy of the application and affidavit and a notice that the 7
person is entitled to appear and be heard on the 8
application; and 9
(b) give the applicant and each relevant person, on 10
appearance, an opportunity to be heard at the hearing of 11
the application. 12
(2) At the hearing of the application, the Court may receive as 13
evidence any record of evidence given, or affidavit filed, in 14
any proceeding in any Australian court or tribunal in which 15
the applicant is, or at any time was, involved either as a party 16
or as a person acting in concert with a party. 17
(3) The Court may grant leave to institute a particular proceeding 18
or a proceeding of a particular type (the proceeding), subject 19
to the conditions the Court considers appropriate. 20
(4) However, the Court may grant leave only if it is satisfied that 21
the proceeding is not a vexatious proceeding. 22
(5) In this section-- 23
relevant person, in relation to the applicant for leave to 24
institute the proceeding, means each of the following 25
persons-- 26
(a) the person against whom the applicant proposes to 27
institute the proceeding; 28
(b) the Attorney-General; 29
(c) the Crown solicitor; 30
(d) the registrar of the Court if the registrar applied for a 31
vexatious proceedings order in relation to the applicant; 32
(e) any person mentioned in section 5(1)(d) or (e)-- 33
s 14 11 s 15
Vexatious Proceedings Bill 2005
(i) who, with the leave of the Court, applied for a 1
vexatious proceedings order in relation to the 2
applicant; and 3
(ii) who the Court considers should be served; 4
(f) any person-- 5
(i) who made an application in relation to the 6
applicant under the Vexatious Litigants Act 1981, 7
section 3(2) or 5(2)2 before the commencement of 8
this section; and 9
(ii) who the Court considers should be served. 10
Part 4 Transitional provisions for 11
repealed Vexatious Litigants 12
Act 1981 13
14 Definitions for pt 4 14
In this part-- 15
commencement means the commencement of this section. 16
repealed Act means the Vexatious Litigants Act 1981. 17
15 Repealed Act continues to apply to applications made 18
before commencement 19
(1) This section applies if-- 20
(a) an application has been made under the repealed Act; 21
and 22
(b) immediately before the commencement, the application 23
has not been decided. 24
2 Vexatious Litigants Act 1981, section 3 (Declaration of vexatious litigants upon
application by public officials) or 5 (Reinstatement of declaration of vexatious
litigant)
s 16 12 s 16
Vexatious Proceedings Bill 2005
(2) The repealed Act continues to apply in relation to deciding the 1
application as if the Vexatious Proceedings Act 2005 had not 2
been enacted. 3
16 Orders under repealed Act taken to be orders under this 4
Act 5
(1) An order under section 3 of the repealed Act3 that is in force 6
immediately before the commencement is taken to be a 7
vexatious proceedings order for the purposes of this Act. 8
(2) An order under section 3 of the repealed Act that is made or 9
reinstated4 on or after the commencement because of section 10
15 is taken to be a vexatious proceedings order for the 11
purposes of this Act. 12
(3) If-- 13
(a) an order under section 4 of the repealed Act that 5
14
revokes another order is in force immediately before the 15
commencement; or 16
(b) an order under section 4 of the repealed Act that revokes 17
another order is made on or after the commencement 18
because of section 15; 19
then-- 20
(c) for the purposes of this Act, the other order is taken to 21
be a vexatious proceedings order that has been set aside; 22
and 23
(d) section 8 applies in relation to the other order. 24
3 Vexatious Litigants Act 1981, section 3 (Declaration of vexatious litigants upon
application by public officials)
4 See the Vexatious Litigants Act 1981, section 5 (Reinstatement of declaration of
vexatious litigant).
5 Vexatious Litigants Act 1981, section 4 (Revocation of s 3 order)
s 17 13 s 17
Vexatious Proceedings Bill 2005
Part 5 Repeal 1
17 Repeal of Vexatious Litigants Act 1981 2
The Vexatious Litigants Act 1981 No. 35 is repealed. 3
14
Vexatious Proceedings Bill 2005
Schedule Dictionary 1
section 3 2
Australian court or tribunal means a court or tribunal of the 3
Commonwealth or of a State. 4
Court means the Supreme Court. 5
Court's website means the website administered by the 6
Supreme Court Library for the Court and other courts.6 7
decision includes determination. 8
institute, in relation to proceedings, includes-- 9
(a) for civil proceedings--the taking of a step or the making 10
of an application that may be necessary before 11
proceedings can be started against a party; and 12
(b) for proceedings before a tribunal--the taking of a step 13
or the making of an application that may be necessary 14
before proceedings can be started before the tribunal; 15
and 16
(c) for criminal proceedings--the making of a complaint or 17
the obtaining of a warrant for the arrest of an alleged 18
offender; and 19
(d) for civil or criminal proceedings or proceedings before a 20
tribunal--the taking of a step or the making of an 21
application that may be necessary to start an appeal in 22
relation to the proceedings or to a decision made in the 23
course of the proceedings. 24
order includes declaration and injunction. 25
proceeding includes-- 26
(a) any cause, matter, action, suit, proceeding, trial, 27
complaint or inquiry of any kind within the jurisdiction 28
of any court or tribunal; and 29
6 The website may be viewed at .
15
Vexatious Proceedings Bill 2005
Schedule (continued)
(b) any proceeding, including any interlocutory proceeding, 1
taken in connection with or incidental to a proceeding 2
pending before a court or tribunal; and 3
(c) any calling into question of a decision, whether or not a 4
final decision, of a court or tribunal, and whether by 5
appeal, challenge, review or in another way. 6
proceedings of a particular type includes-- 7
(a) proceedings in relation to a particular matter; and 8
(b) proceedings against a particular person; and 9
(c) proceedings in a particular court or tribunal. 10
vexatious proceeding includes-- 11
(a) a proceeding that is an abuse of the process of a court or 12
tribunal; and 13
(b) a proceeding instituted to harass or annoy, to cause 14
delay or detriment, or for another wrongful purpose; and 15
(c) a proceeding instituted or pursued without reasonable 16
ground; and 17
(d) a proceeding conducted in a way so as to harass or 18
annoy, cause delay or detriment, or achieve another 19
wrongful purpose. 20
vexatious proceedings order means an order made under 21
section 6(2). 22
© State of Queensland 2005
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