Elliott v State of NSW (NSW Police Force) [2011] NSWADT 159

Administrative Decisions Tribunal New South Wales Medium Neutral Citation: Elliott v State of NSW (NSW Police Force) [2011] NSWADT 159 Hearing dates: 7 June 2011 Decision date: 30 June 2011 Jurisdiction: Equal Opportunity Division Before: Magistrate N Hennessy, Deputy President Decision: Leave is refused for the applicant's complaint of disability discrimination in the provision of services to proceed Catchwords: LEAVE - complaint of disability discrimination in the provision of services declined as lacking in substance - whether fair and just for complaint to proceed - complaint lacks merit - leave refused Legislation Cited: Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 (Tas) Cases Cited: Anti-Discrimination Commissioner v Acting Ombudsman [2003] TASSC 34; (2003) 11 Tas R 343 Australian Iron & Steel Pty Ltd v Banovic (1989) 169 CLR 165 Commissioner of Police v Mohamed [2009] NSWCA 432 Dutt v Central Coast Area Health Service [2002] NSWADT 133 Jones and Anor v Ekermawi [2009] NSWCA 388 Shamoon v Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary [2003] UKHL 11; [2003] 2 All ER 26 Category: Interlocutory applications Parties: Wayne Elliott (Applicant) State of NSW (NSW Police Force) (Respondent) Representation: Mr W Elliott (Applicant - In person) Bartier Perry (Respondent) File Number(s): 111036

REasons for decision

Introduction 1EQUAL OPPORTUNITY DIVISION (N HENNESSY, LCM (DEPUTY PRESIDENT)): Mr Elliott complains that the NSW Police Force (the Police) have discriminated against him on the ground of his mental illness - dysthymia, post traumatic stress disorder and depression. Mr Elliott has been a tenant of Housing NSW since April 2008 and says that despite communicating with Police on many occasions about the conduct of his neighbours, they did not respond appropriately. 2The President of the Anti-Discrimination Board declined Mr Elliott's complaint as lacking in substance. Mr Elliott needs to obtain the Tribunal's permission before his complaint can proceed: Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 ( AD Act ), s 96. The Tribunal has a discretion to grant or refuse leave for the complaint to go ahead and will be guided by what is fair and just in the circumstances: Jones and Anor v Ekermawi [2009] NSWCA 388. When deciding whether to grant leave, the Tribunal may have regard to the grounds on which the President may decline a complaint under s 92(1) of the AD Act, including that the complaint lacks substance.