Jean Madden to seek costs after being cleared of improper use of charity money

Former Young Australian of the Year Jean Madden, who was cleared of allegations she ripped off a charity, has been allowed to seek costs which will reportedly exceed $50,000.

Street Swags founder Jean Madden arrives at the Brisbane Magistrates Court. Picture: Liam Kidston

Former Queensland Young Australian of the Year Jean Madden will seek “significant costs” after being cleared of improperly using charity money despite previously being denied the opportunity.

Ms Madden was charged several years ago with 16 dishonesty-type offences in connection with ‘Street Swags’, a charity she founded which supplies waterproof bedding to people who are homeless.

It was alleged she used about $150,000 of charity funding to pay for personal expenses between early 2015 and mid-2016.

Twelve of the charges were discontinued by March 2019 and she was expected to face trial on the remaining four later that year, but police prosecutors offered no evidence to support the allegations.

The matters were dismissed in the Magistrates Court on December 12, 2019 and the charity founder by her counsel formally made an application for costs.

The Courier Mail reported at the time that Ms Madden intended to seek about $52,000 after being cleared of wrongdoing.

Jean Madden, founder of Street Swags. Picture: Mark Cranitch

But a magistrate refused Ms Madden’s application for costs based on another judicial decision that meant an order for making a payment of costs could not be made after the charges had been formally dismissed.

“The Magistrate concluded that there had been a formal dismissal of all four charges and she had no jurisdiction to make a costs order. The costs application was refused,” the Court of Appeal judgment read.

Ms Madden filed a notice of appeal to the District Court the following day.

The Court of Appeal determined last week that her application for leave to appeal the decision should be granted.

“By dismissing the charges on December 12, 2019, the Magistrate denied the applicant procedural fairness, in the sense that her Honour made orders finally determining the proceeding before her without giving the applicant the opportunity to be heard in relation to her foreshadowed application …,” the decision read.

The court found that dismissing the charges on December 12, 2019 caused “obvious substantial injustice” to Ms Madden.

The appeal was allowed with Ms Madden’s application for cost orders to be heard by a magistrate at a future date.

Ms Madden was named Queensland’s Young Australian of the Year in 2010 after launching her Street Swags charity. She also spent time working as a schoolteacher, but alleged the fraud charges against her “destroyed” her career.