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Administrative Appeals Tribunal Annual Report 2013-14 [DOCX version]
Administrative Appeals Tribunal Annual Report201314
CONTACTING THETRIBUNAL
Adelaide Registry
11th Floor Chesser House
91 Grenfell St
ADELAIDE SA 5000
Tel 08 8201 0600
Fax 08 8201 0610
Email [email protected]
Brisbane Registry
Level 4 Harry Gibbs Building
Commonwealth Law Courts
119 North Quay
BRISBANE QLD 4000
Tel 07 3361 3000
Fax 07 3361 3001
Email [email protected]
Canberra Registry
Level 8, 14 Moore St
CANBERRA CITY ACT 2600
Tel 02 6243 4611
Fax 02 6243 4600
Email [email protected]
Hobart Registry
Edward Braddon Building
Commonwealth Law Courts
3941 Davey St
HOBART TAS 7000
Tel 03 6232 1622
Fax 03 6232 1601
Email [email protected]
Melbourne Registry
Level 16 HWT Tower
40 City Rd
SOUTHBANK VIC 3006
Tel 03 9282 8444
Fax 03 9282 8480
Email [email protected]
Norfolk Island Registry
c/- Supreme Court of Norfolk Island
KINGSTON Norfolk Island 2899
Tel 0011 6723 23691
Fax 0011 6723 23403
Email [email protected]
Perth Registry
Level 5 111 St Georges Tce
PERTH WA 6000
Tel 08 9327 7200
Fax 08 9327 7299
Email [email protected]
Sydney Registry
Level 7 55 Market St
SYDNEY NSW 2000
Tel 02 9391 2400
Fax 02 9283 4881
Email [email protected]
NATIONAL 1300NUMBER
You can call the AAT on 1300 366 700 from anywhere in Australia. You will be connected to the AAT office in your capital city. Residents of northern NSW (postcodes 24602490) and the Northern Territory will be connected to the Brisbane Registry. Callers from fixed phone lines will be charged at local call rates; calls from mobiles may cost more.
Non-English speakers
Call the Translating and Interpreting Service on 131 450 and ask them to call the AAT.
If you are deaf or have a hearing or speech impairment
Call us through the National Relay Service:
TTY users: call 133 677, then ask for 1300 366 700
Speak and Listen (speech-to-speech relay) users: call 1300 555 727, then ask for 1300366 700
Internet relay users:connect to the National Relay Service, then ask for 1300366 700
SMS relay users:call 0423 677 767 and ask for 1300 366 700
Video relay users: choose the available NRS video relay contact on Skypeand ask for 1300 366 700.
Hearing induction loops are available for use at our Registry counters, and in conference and hearing rooms.
Post
AATGPO Box 9955Your capital city
Or
AATc/- Supreme Court of Norfolk Island RegistryKingston, Norfolk Island 2899
Website
www.aat.gov.au
Annual Report201314
This report
An electronic version of this annual report is on the Tribunals website, www.aat.gov.au/Publications/AnnualReport.htm.
More information about the Tribunal is on the Tribunals website, www.aat.gov.au.
Photos on front cover: Graynoise, Leighton Hutchison
Commonwealth of Australia2014
With the exception of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms and any third party material, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia licence (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en).
To the extent that copyright subsists in third party material, it remains with the original owner and permission may be required to reuse the material.
The terms under which the Coat of Arms can be used are detailed on the following website:www.itsanhonour.gov.au/coat-arms/.
Content from this publication should be attributed as: Administrative Appeals Tribunal, Annual Report201314.
Enquiries regarding the licence, any use of this work, or any other queries about this report are welcome.
RegistrarPrincipal RegistryAdministrative Appeals TribunalGPO Box 9955SYDNEY NSW2001
Tel: 02 9391 2491Fax: 02 9391 2578Email: [email protected]
ISSN 1035-3161
Designed by ZOO AdvertisingTypeset by Ogle DigitalPrinted by New Millennium Print
Letter of transmission
Contents
Annual Report 2013141
Letter of transmission7
Contents8
Table of FIGURES10
Chapter 0112
The year inreview13
Presidents overview14
Registrars review18
201314 Highlights and achievements21
Chapter 0224
Overview of the Tribunal25
Chapter 0336
Our performance37
Chapter 0453
Our users and ourrelationships54
Chapter 0566
Our organisation and our people67
Financial statements82
Appendixes126
Appendix 1: Members of the Tribunal127
Appendix 2: Staff of the Tribunal160
Appendix 3: Tribunal jurisdiction163
Appendix 4: Applications, outcomes, listings and appeals statistics179
Appendix 5: Resourcing tables202
Appendix 6: Application fees205
Appendix 7: Decisions of interest209
Appendix 8: Speeches, publications and other activities222
Appendix 9: Other reporting requirements234
End matter237
Glossary238
List of requirements243
Index249
Table of FIGURESChapters
Table 2.1Tribunal membership, 30June201427
Table 2.2Executive Deputy Presidents/Senior Member, 30June201428
Figure 2.3Administrative structure of the Tribunal, 30June201429
Figure 2.4Case management process32
Table 3.8Deliverables targets and results,20131442
Table 3.9Key performance indicators and results,20131442
Table 3.11Percentage of applications finalised within time standards44
Table 3.12Freedom of Information requests46
Table 3.13Service standards47
Table 3.14Complaints to the Tribunal49
Table 3.15Issues raised in complaints to the Tribunal50
Table 3.16Applications relating to warrants, controlled operations and other functions considered by Tribunal members51
Table 3.17Examinations held under the Proceeds of Crime Act200252
Table 5.1Total actual expenditure on consultancy contracts68
Table 5.2Trends in staffing numbers71
Table 5.3Trends in compensation claims77
Appendixes
Table A2.1Employment by registry, 30June2014160
Table A2.2Equal employment opportunity data, 30June2014160
Table A2.3Employment status and arrangements, 30June2014161
Table A4.1Applications lodged and applications finalised,201314179
Table A4.4Percentage of applications finalised without a hearinga193
Table A4.5Outcomes of applications for review of a decision finalised in201314193
Table A4.7Alternative dispute resolution processes, interlocutory hearings and hearings conducted by the Tribunal196
Table A4.8Constitution of tribunals for hearings197
Table A4.9Appeals against decisions of the Tribunal By jurisdiction198
Table A4.10Outcomes of appeals against Tribunal decisions By jurisdiction199
Table A5.1Tribunal resource statement,201314202
Table A5.2Expenses for outcome203
Table A6.1Fee revenue summary: total, refunded and forgone206
Table A6.2Reduced fees paid207
Table A6.3Applications for which no fee paid where otherwise payable207
Table A8.1Speeches and presentations222
Table A8.2Competition adjudication and training226
Table A8.3Publications228
Table A8.4Other engagement activities229
Table A9.1Trends in non-campaign advertising234
Table A9.2Environmental performance reporting234
Chapter 01The year inreview
Presidents overview
Speaking at the launch of the Merits Review Special Edition of the University of Queensland Law Journal in October2013 I reflected on the fact that every year, while perhaps tens of thousands of Australians will seek judicial review of administrative decisions, hundreds of thousands of Australians apply for one or another form of merits review.
Following the Administrative Appeals Tribunals establishment in 1976, it became a model for merits review that has been drawn on across the Commonwealth and in most states and territories. After nearly 40 years the Tribunal still operates largely without fanfare offering accessible, informal and relatively cheap processes where those who are affected can challenge the merits of administrative decisions.
Merits review in the Tribunal is undertaken by independent members supported by qualified and skilled alternative dispute resolution practitioners and the Tribunals other registrars and support staff. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 allows the Tribunal to review challenged decisions and, if a better decision could have been made, to make the correct or preferable decision.
These important rights are undervalued because Australians now take them for granted. That is understandable but illusory. While merits review seems firmly built into the architecture of the Australian system of government it remains exclusively the product of statute. To retain the support of the public and the Parliament, the Tribunal is keenly aware that it must remain responsive to the obligations set out in section 2A of the AAT Act: that is to ensure that its review functions continue to be economical, prompt and fair.
Practice and procedure development
The past 12 months have seen the Tribunal build rob