Medical Board of Australia v Nugawela

The Supreme Court of Western Australia declared Dr Nugawela a vexatious litigant under the Vexatious Proceedings Restriction Act 2002 (WA), finding that eight of twelve proceedings he instituted against the Medical Board of Australia and AHPRA were vexatious — being instituted or pursued without reasonable grounds or constituting an abuse of process. The Court made a tailored restriction order prohibiting Dr Nugawela from instituting appeals or judicial review proceedings in the Supreme Court or Court of Appeal against the plaintiffs without leave, while preserving his unrestricted right to commence first-instance review proceedings in the SAT and to appeal from the Magistrates Court in pending criminal proceedings. The Court held that the restriction was proportionate given the cumulative burden of meritless collateral challenges, serial non-compliance with Court of Appeal procedures, a pattern of multiple applications challenging the same decisions, and the likelihood of future vexatious proceedings given ongoing regulatory oversight.