The recusal application by Dr Spencer was refused, and the reconstitution application was dismissed without adjudication on its merits. Vice President Judge Daly held that routine case management decisions — including deferring a summary dismissal application to the final hearing, granting extensions of time to the opposing party, declining to engage in open-ended email correspondence, and prioritising a stay application over the recusal application — do not establish the logical connection required by Ebner and QYFM between the conduct complained of and a reasonable apprehension that the decision-maker might not act impartially. The decision also confirms that a novel 'structural institutional conflict of interest' ground — alleging that no member of a particular tribunal division can impartially hear a matter because a colleague's earlier decision is under challenge — has no established basis in the apprehended bias authorities.
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