Appellate restraint governs interference with disciplinary...

Appellate restraint governs interference with disciplinary penalties under the Customs Broker Licensing Regulations. The original authority must assess the evidence and select an appropriate sanction; an appellate forum cannot replace that choice merely because another penalty is possible, absent arbitrariness, perversity or legal infirmity. Licence revocation, which can end the broker's business, is not automatic for every regulatory breach and must remain proportionate to the proved misconduct. Suspicion, however strong, cannot substitute legal proof. As no defect was established in the Commissioner's decision to impose a monetary penalty instead of revocation, the departmental challenge and request for remand were rejected.