Court denies Nicola Gobbo's bid to overturn compensation ruling

Nicola Gobbo, once a barrister for notorious gangland figures, attempted to secure compensation of at least $800,000 from the Victorian government, claiming police exploited her vulnerabilities to recruit her as an informer in late 2005. The Victorian Supreme Court dismissed the case in June 2025, concluding that only four of the ten sued officers owed a duty of care and that the state could not be held liable because the risk of exposure was inherent once she agreed to inform.

Gobbo’s subsequent request for leave to appeal was rejected by the Court of Appeal, which also ordered her to pay the state’s legal expenses. Justice Melinda Richard had previously ruled on the duty-of-care issue, while the appeal panel, led by Justice Karin Emerton, gave no detailed reasons. A royal commission later found that Gobbo’s dual role may have affected more than 1,000 convictions, leading to several overturned sentences for former clients such as Tony Mokbel, Faruk Orman and Zlate Cvetanovski.