Anthony De Fraine

Findings — machine-extracted (anthropic-batch:claude-opus-4-8); verify against the decision

Anthony De Fraine, an Australian lawyer admitted in NSW, faced four charges of failing to comply with s 443 notices issued by the LSC in relation to complaints from four clients. He did not respond to the notices, did not engage in the proceedings, and offered no reasonable excuse. QCAT (Justice Davis) found all four charges proved and each constituting professional misconduct. Having abrogated his professional responsibilities by opting out of regulation, he was found unfit for practice. The Tribunal recommended removal of his name from the NSW roll and ordered him to pay the Commissioner's costs on the standard basis. No express finding of dishonesty was made.

Duties found breached:

• Report serious misconduct of others
• No baseless or threatened misconduct report

Aggravating factors:

• Repeated failure to respond to numerous statutory notices across four separate client complaints
• Prior disciplinary history: 2015 finding of professional misconduct and 2024 finding of unsatisfactory professional conduct
• Failure to engage in the disciplinary proceedings and non-appearance at hearing
• Effectively removed himself from regulation, demonstrating unfitness for practice