Vexatious Proceedings Act 2008

Before an appropriate authorised court grants an application made under section 14 for leave to institute proceedings, it must—

order that the applicant serve each relevant person with a copy of the application and affidavit and a notice that the person is entitled to appear and be heard on the application, and

give the applicant and each relevant person an opportunity to be heard at the hearing of the application.

At the hearing of the application, the court may receive as evidence any record of evidence given, or affidavit filed, in any proceedings in any Australian court or tribunal in which the applicant is, or at any time was, involved either as a party or as a person acting in concert with a party.

The court may grant leave to institute proceedings subject to the conditions that the court considers appropriate.

However, the court may grant leave only if it is satisfied that—

the proceedings are not vexatious proceedings, and

there are one or more prima facie grounds for the proceedings.

A grant of leave to institute proceedings made under this section includes leave to make interlocutory applications, and other procedural applications, in connection with or incidental to those proceedings, unless the grant of leave specifies otherwise.

However, a grant of leave to institute proceedings does not include leave to make the following applications (unless the grant of leave specifically extends to such applications)—

an application to join a new party to the proceedings,

an application to introduce into the pleadings for the proceedings a substantially new cause of action based on facts different from those already pleaded,

an application to remove the proceedings from one court or tribunal to another.

In this section—

the person against or in relation to whom the applicant proposes to institute the proceedings,

the Attorney General,

the Solicitor General,

the appropriate registrar for the authorised court that made the vexatious proceedings order concerned if the registrar applied for the order in relation to the applicant,

any person referred to in section 8 (4) (d) or (e)—

who applied for a vexatious proceedings order in relation to the applicant, and

who the appropriate authorised court dealing with the application considers should be served,

any person—

who made an application in relation to the applicant under section 70 of the Land and Environment Court Act 1979 or section 84 of the Supreme Court Act 1970 before the commencement of this section, and

who the appropriate authorised court dealing with the application considers should be served.