In disciplinary review proceedings before VCAT where the applicant faces a penalty, directions should not ordinarily require the applicant to file witness statements or make positive assertions before the case against them is completed, by reason of the penalty privilege. The Medical Practitioners Board of Victoria is not a person representing the Crown for the purposes of s 38 of the Appeal Costs Act 1998. A strike-out application under s 78 of the VCAT Act requires the Tribunal to consider whether there was a 'reasonable excuse' for non-compliance and whether the conduct actually 'unnecessarily disadvantaged' the other party.
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