Administrative Appeals Tribunal

Full description

Establishment

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1984 (No.10155) established the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). The relevant sections of the Act came into operation on 5 December 1984. Section 19 of Act 10155 provided that the Tribunal would operate under two divisions, the General Division and the Taxation Division, as well as "such other divisions as are prescribed".

Previous Agency - Planning Appeals

The Planning Appeals (Amendment) Act (No.9 of 1987) created the Planning Division. On 1 August 1987 the Planning Appeals Board (PAB) (VA 1408) became the Planning Division of the AAT. In 1988 the possibility of a fourth division being created to encompass the functions of the Land Valuation Boards of Review (LVBR) was being considered. The LVBR was relocated on 4 January 1989 to the premises occupied by the Planning Division but continued to operate as a separate body. As at 1992 this situation continued.

Objectives, Structure and Proceedings

The primary object of the Tribunal was to review administrative decisions upon their merits in an informal and expeditious manner and to permit a broad range of persons whose interests were affected by a decision to participate in a proceeding. Preliminary conferences were frequently employed by the Tribunal to identify points of law and to seek to reach agreement between parties to an appeal without the need to proceed to a full hearing.

Act 10155 defined the Tribunal as consisting of a President and such number of Deputy Presidents and other members as was required. The President was to be a judge of the County Court. The Deputy Presidents were to be judges of, or qualified for appointment to, the County Court. Other members were to be legal practitioners or to possess special knowledge or skills relative to matters which may have been heard before the Tribunal. Act 9 of 1987 provided that a member could be appointed to a particular division. It further provided that all members of the PAB became members of the AAT; the Chief Chairperson of the PAB became a Deputy President of the AAT.

Functions

Under Act 10155 the Tribunal, in its General and Taxation Divisions, had jurisdiction to hear appeals against decisions made under certain sections of the following acts:
Adoption; Business Franchise (Tobacco); Criminal Injuries; Compensation; Energy Consumption Levy; Estate Agents; Financial Institutions Duty; Freedom of Information; Gift Duty; Land Tax; Motor Accidents; Payroll Tax; Probate Duty; Stamps; State Employees Retirement Benefits Fund; Infertility (Medical Procedures).

From 1 August 1987, when the functions of the PAB were assumed by the AAT, Act9 of 1987 provided that the Planning Division of the Tribunal had jurisdiction in relation to appeals under various sections of the following acts:
Alpine Resorts; Cluster Titles; Drainage Areas; Drainage of Land; Environment Protection; Extractive industries; Health; Historic Buildings; Latrobe Regional Commission; Local Government; Mines; Port Phillip Coastal Planning and Management; Soil Conservation and Land Utilisation; Strata Titles; Town and Country Planning; Transport Act; Upper Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges Authority; Water.

The Tribunal's jurisdiction may be extended or reduced by further legislative changes.

Location of Records

Some records of this agency have been transferred to archival custody, see list below.