New Administrative Review Tribunal Bill Introduced in South Australian Parliament
Friday 26 July 2013 @ 11.16 a.m. | Judiciary, Legal Profession & Procedure | Legal Research | Torts, Damages & Civil Liability
A new Bill which has reached second reading stage; namely, the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Bill 2013 was introduced into the South Australian House of Assembly on Wednesday (24 July 2013) by the Attorney-General. The Bill is described as a Bill for "an act to establish a tribunal with jurisdiction to review certain administrative decisions and to act with respect to certain disciplinary, civil or other proceedings; to confer powers on the tribunal; and for other purposes."
The Bill establishes a new South Australian tribunal, with the jurisdiction to review administrative decisions and to act with respect to disciplinary, civil or other proceedings; and to confer powers on the tribunal carry out the role.
The purpose of the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal ("the Tribunal") is stated to be "to make and review a range of administrative decisions in one tribunal".
The Tribunal's objectives in exercising its jurisdiction are described in his second reading speech by the Attorney General as:
"... to be accessible to all, especially people with special needs, to ensure efficient and cost effective processes for all parties involved, to act with as little formality and technicality as possible and to be flexible in the way in which it conducts its business."
The Tribunal is also required to be "transparent and accountable" and is to be headed by a President who will hold concurrent office as either a Judge of the Supreme or the District Court.
The need for the proposed legislation is stated as being that, "currently in South Australia merits review functions are conferred on a wide array of decision making bodies including Ministers, commissioners, ombudsman, courts and other specialist boards and tribunals". A factor that causes problems because each "merits review body" has limited jurisdiction and undertakes the review of selected decisions under a host of individual legislative schemes, with the further complication that these bodies each have their own administrative structure, procedural processes and infrastructure, resulting in inconsistency and unnecessary duplication. Factors that all lead to an "inefficient and confusing barrier to members of the public attempting to enforce their rights".
In his second reading speech the Attorney General indicated that the introduction of this Bill:
". . . constitutes a significant reform in the field of administrative law in the State of South Australia, the beginnings of which trace back to 1984, when the South Australia Law Reform Committee recommended the establishment of a General Appeals Tribunal to streamline and simplify the review of administrative decisions in this State".
Further the Attorney-General states in his speech that: "South Australia is one of the last jurisdictions to address the ad hoc tribunal system."
Establishing the Tribunal will require the introduction of at least two separate Bills, this Bill (which sets out the structure, membership, constitution and other provisions that are required to facilitate the establishment of the Tribunal) and a conferral of jurisdiction and other related matters Bill which will be needed to amend the many various Acts that presently confer jurisdiction on courts, tribunals, boards and other persons or bodies to deal with the disciplinary and other administrative decisions and reviews proposed to be transferred to the Tribunal.
The Attorney-General states in his second reading speech that the supporting legislation required to establish the Tribunal will be enacted in separate phases so as to:
". . . allow the Government to undertake extensive consultation with existing tribunals and other bodies or matters that could be included ... The Bill has been introduced today so that consultation can occur over the winter break of Parliament. Letters have already been sent to those consulted by the Steering Committee asking for their comment on the Bill, and I invite any other interested person to send their comments to my Department. If amendments to the Bill are required following this consultation they will be filed and moved when the Bill is debated in September".
Sources:
The Bill as introduced into the SA House of Assembly and the second reading speech
for the Bill as reported in the TimeBase LawOne Service.
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