(1) The commissioner may dismiss a complaint for 1 or more of the following
reasons—
(a) the commissioner has given the complainant a notice under
section 431and, within the time stated in the notice or under an extension
under that section, the complainant has not complied with the notice;
(b) the
complaint does not disclose conduct that the commissioner considers may be—
(i) conduct to which this chapter applies; or
(ii) unsatisfactory
professional conduct or professional misconduct of an Australian legal
practitioner or misconduct of a law practice employee in relation to the
relevant practice;
(c) the commissioner considers the complaint is vexatious,
misconceived, frivolous or lacking in substance;
(d) the conduct complained
about has been the subject of a previous complaint that has been dismissed or
dealt with, and the commissioner considers that the complaint discloses no
reason to reconsider the matter;
(e) it is not in the public interest to deal
with the complaint having regard to the fact that the name of the Australian
legal practitioner to whom the complaint relates has already been removed from
any Australian roll in which he or she was enrolled.
(2) The commissioner may
dismiss a complaint under this section without completing an investigation if,
having considered the complaint, the commissioner forms the view that the
complaint requires no further investigation.
(3) If a complaint is dismissed
for the reason mentioned in subsection (1) (a) , the dismissal does not
prevent the complainant from making a fresh complaint under section 429.
(4)
In this section—
"complaint" does not include a complaint about the conduct of an unlawful
operator.
"previous complaint" includes—
(a) a complaint under the Queensland Law
Society Act 1952 or the Legal Profession Act 2004, if the complaint was made
under that Act before the commencement of this section; and
(b) a complaint
made to the bar association if the complaint was made before 1 July 2004.
