Dog owner Paul Cutbush faces bankruptcy over destruction order

More than four years after losing a bid to save his family’s beloved Bandit from Death Row, a Queensland man is facing another major threat.

A Queensland man who spent years locked in a doomed effort to save his daughter’s beloved dog from Death Row is now facing a battle against bankruptcy.

Tamborine’s Paul Cutbush made news headlines in 2017 when he launched a lengthy – but ultimately unsuccessful – bid to overturn a destruction order by the Scenic Rim Regional Council for his family’s cattle dog Bandit.

But now, more than four years after Bandit was eventually put down, Mr Cutbush has been rocked by a bid to have him declared bankrupt over a six-figure bill for the council’s legal fees – an amount he disputes.

Paul Cutbush is fighting the Scenic Rim Regional Council over an unsuccessful bid to save his dog Bandit from Death Row. Picture: Adam Head

Bandit was reported to authorities and placed in a pound awaiting destruction after a number of attacks at the family’s former acreage home which Mr Cutbush also disputed during a lengthy Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal case.

The case dragged on for years and QCAT eventually sided with the council, – a ruling confirmed after a subsequent appeal, leading to Bandit’s unfortunate demise in 2020.

Now, in a move which has rubbed salt into Mr Cutbush’s still raw wounds, the council has served him with bankruptcy proceedings in a bid to recover an alleged debt of $113,527 in legal fees incurred during the lengthy battle, which also included a number of related court actions in other jurisdictions including the District Court.

Bandit was just 18 months old when he was seized by council officers after a number of incidents.

Mr Cutbush said he “absolutely hit the roof” when notified about the bankruptcy action and in a submission to the Federal Court lodged on November 5, he argued the bankruptcy notice was invalid as it did not meet guidelines set down by the Australian Financial Security Agency.

In the application to the Federal Court, lawyers for the Scenic Rim Regional Council contend the amount is owed over two money orders stemming from the District Court.

However, in an affidavit tendered to the Federal Court, Mr Cutbush disputed the amount being sought by the council, claiming it did not take into account a sum of $32,266 he had already paid and called for the application to be dismissed “as the council has knowingly presented an invalid bankruptcy notice to the court”.

Mr Cutbush, who said he used to drive to the pound twice a day and call out to Bandit over the fence because he was not allowed to visit inside, remained confident he would beat the bankruptcy claim.

Bandit during his lengthy stay in detention before he was eventually ordered to be put down.

“It was a hell of a shock to find out someone is trying to bankrupt you,” he said.

“It would affect my credit rating and I wouldn’t be able to get loans so it’s very serious.

“It’s been a nightmare and now I’m reliving all of that trauma from what happened to Bandit again … but they (the council) won’t be successful.”

This masthead contacted the Scenic Rim Regional Council for comment.

The bankruptcy case will return to the Federal Court in Brisbane next month.

Mr Cutbush said he had also launched a multimillion-dollar compensation claim against the AFSA for their role in what he alleges is “the distribution of a defective Bankruptcy Notice”.

An AFSA spokesperson said the regulatory body “does not comment on individual bankruptcy cases”.