Court of Appeal rejects Nicola Gobbo's compensation claim against Victoria Police

In short:

The Court of Appeal has thrown out a compensation bid from former defence barrister Nicola Gobbo.

Ms Gobbo was seeking at least $800,000 in damages after claiming that Victoria Police officers exploited her vulnerabilities and distress due to her close ties to gangland figures.

Appeal court justices refused Ms Gobbo leave to appeal and ordered her to pay the state's legal costs.

Former gangland lawyer-turned-informer Nicola Gobbo has suffered another legal loss, with a court throwing out her compensation appeal bid.

Ms Gobbo had originally sought at least $800,000 in damages from the state of Victoria over claims she was groomed by police to become a source in late 2005.

Her claim was dismissed by the Victorian Supreme Court in June 2025 but she challenged the ruling in the Court of Appeal.

On Friday the court refused her leave to appeal the decision and the case was thrown out.

Ms Gobbo had claimed police exploited her vulnerabilities and distress due to close ties to gangland figures, including Tony Mokbel.

She said they offered her support and promised to hide her identity in exchange for information on her gangland clients.

But her cover was blown in March 2019 when she was exposed as "Informer 3838" and "Lawyer X".

Justice Melinda Richard in June 2025 found only four of the 10 officers who were being sued actually owed Ms Gobbo and her children a duty of care.

But she determined the state could not be held liable because once Ms Gobbo agreed to become an informer, exposure was an inherent risk.

Appeal court president Justice Karin Emerton and Justices David Beach and Susan Kenny did not give extensive reasons for their decision on Friday morning.

They simply refused Ms Gobbo leave to appeal and ordered her to pay the state's legal costs.

Ms Gobbo signed the bar roll at the age of 25, becoming the youngest woman in the state to do so, and quickly found herself representing gangland clients, including the Mokbel family and Carl Williams's clan.

A royal commission found her position as both an informer and a barrister could have affected more than 1,000 convictions.

Former clients Mokbel, Faruk Orman and Zlate Cvetanovski have successfully had convictions overturned since her role was uncovered in March 2019.

In 2010, Ms Gobbo sued Victoria Police, claiming they failed to protect her as a witness and settled out of court for almost $3 million.

AAP