VPRS 8347 Appeal Files [Sample Only Retained]

Full description

Background
The files in this series were created by VA 2659 Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The files are those created from January 1989 to record the process and result of appeals and applications against decisions made by a variety of Government bodies.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal was established by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1984 (No.10155). The legislation provided for the Tribunal to operate with two Divisions, the General and Taxation Divisions, as well as "such other divisions as are prescribed". The Planning Appeals (Amendment) Act (No.9 of 1987) created the Planning Division of the AAT which, on 1 August 1987, assumed the functions of the previous agency, VA 1408 Planning Appeals Board.

Previous Series
Until the end of December 1988 appeal files created by the General and Taxation Divisions were arranged in a separate annual single number sequence to those files created by the Planning Division. The files were physically stored separately and separate control records were maintained. Planning Division files from that period have been transferred into archival custody in VPRS 8345 Appeal Files (Planning) [Sample Only Retained]. Files created in that period by the General and Taxation Divisions are part of VPRS 8346 Appeal Files (General and Taxation) [Sample Only Retained] [RECORDS NOT TRANSFERRED]. Both of those series are previous series to this series.

This Series
From January 1989 appeal files from all three Divisions were allocated numbers from a single, annual single number sequence. This was done in anticipation of the Courtlink case management computer system which was first used from July 1989. The Courtlink system continued the annual single number sequence started in January 1989 but provided an additional, random digit at the end of the file numbers. This digit was a computer check digit which did not form part of the sequence. For example, in the appeal number 89/4545.1, the appeal number is 89/4545 and 1 is the check digit which enabled the computer to verify information input against the appeal number.

For the period January to June 1989, files raised under the different jurisdictions of the AAT were identified by the inclusion of an alphabetical prefix to the annual single number in the format, for example, P89/123. The prefixes and the jurisdictions they related to, for the Planning Division, were:

(B) Referred from Ministry of Planning and Environment,
(C) Drainage Claim - an appeal or application for compensation for land effected by a drainage scheme or decision,
(D) Drainage - appeals against drainage schemes,
(E) Appeals against Environment Protection Authority decisions,
(L) Appeals against street schemes,
(P) Appeals against Planning schemes and decisions,
(Q) Quarries,
(R) Appeals against Alpine Resorts Commission decisions.

For the General and Taxation Divisions the prefixes included G and T as initials of the two divisions.

The Permanent Sample
The records transferred in this series are a permanent sample. The make up of the sample was determined by the Records Disposal Schedule for Records of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal which was issued by the Keeper of Public Records in 1991 as Public Record Office Standard (PROS) 91/10. That schedule identifies the following appeal files as permanent: all files documenting appeals and claims heard by the Planning Division in relation to:
- drainage matters,
- all granted or amended Planning Division appeal files,
- an annual random sample of 5 files per 1000 of files identified as temporary (see below for definition of temporary files) or at least five files if there are less than 1000 temporary files. The random sample is to be taken separately from the General and Taxation Division files and the Planning Division files.

Temporary files are identified as:
- refused Planning Division appeal files,
- files relating to Planning Division appeals heard where the Tribunal determines not to issue an order or declaration,
- withdrawn Planning Division applications,
- Planning Division files not otherwise classified,
- all General and Taxation Division files not included in the random sample.

In addition, the Disposal Schedule does not sentence appeal files where the cases were appealed to the Supreme Court. In some instances these files may have been transferred as part of this series.