LFDB v SM (Vexatious Proceedings Order)

[2026] FCA 1420

Federal Court of Australia

Built by Barristers,
For Australian Law.

1. Practice and Procedure
1. vexatious proceedings orders
1. whether a vexatious proceedings order should be made against the first applicant
1. where the applicant frequently instituted vexatious proceedings

Even where the statutory threshold under s 37AO(1)(a) of the Federal Court of Australia Act 1976 (Cth) is satisfied — that a person has 'frequently' instituted or conducted vexatious proceedings — the Court retains a discretion to decline to make a vexatious proceedings order, having regard to all the circumstances.
That a self-represented litigant's vexatious proceedings proceeded on genuine misunderstandings of the law, and that the litigant conducted proceedings in a calm, measured and respectful manner without indignant repetition, are significant discretionary factors weighing against the making of a vexatious proceedings order.
Four vexatious proceedings instituted within a single calendar year is sufficient to satisfy the ordinary meaning of 'frequently' in s 37AO(1)(a), without needing to rely on earlier, temporally distant instances.