A close association between a decision-maker and a party to proceedings may give rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias without any connection between the nature or subject matter of the association and the issues in dispute. While a connection to the issues may be relevant in pre-judgment cases, it is not required for association-based apprehended bias claims. Section 14 of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 (NSW), which provides that a decision is not vitiated by a Commissioner's failure to comply with statutory disqualification requirements, does not preclude setting aside a decision on general law apprehended bias grounds.
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