Presented by Hon Ken Baston MLC (Chairman) May 2009
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THIRTY-EIGHTH PARLIAMENT REPORT 14 STANDING COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATION INQUIRY INTO THE JURISDICTION AND OPERATION OF THE STATE ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL Presented by Hon Ken Baston MLC (Chairman) May 2009 STANDING COMMITTEE ON LEGISLATION Date first appointed: 17 August 2005 Terms of Reference: The following is an extract from Schedule 1 of the Legislative Council Standing Orders: “4. Legislation Committee 4.1 A Legislation Committee is established. 4.2 The Committee consists of 5 members. 4.3 The functions of the Committee are to consider and report on any Bill referred by the House or under SO 125A. 4.4 Unless otherwise ordered any amendment recommended by the Committee must be consistent with the policy of a Bill.” Members for this inquiry: Hon Graham Giffard MLC (Chair) Hon Ken Baston MLC (Chairman from 12 until 10 August 2008 November 2008) Hon Giz Watson MLC (Deputy Chair) Hon Sally Talbot MLC Hon Matt Benson-Lidholm MLC Hon George Cash MLC from 11 November 2008 (substitute Member for Hon Peter Collier MLC until 7 August 2008 and for Hon Helen Morton from 14 November 2008) Staff for this inquiry: Ms Denise Wong, Advisory Officer (Legal) Mr Mark Warner, Committee Clerk Ms Kerry-Jayne Braat, Committee Clerk Address: Parliament House, Perth WA 6000, Telephone (08) 9222 7222 [email protected] Website: http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au ISBN 978-1-921634-00-0 Government Response This Report is subject to Standing Order 337: After tabling, the Clerk shall send a copy of a report recommending action by, or seeking a response from, the Government to the responsible Minister. The Leader of the Government or the Minister (if a Member of the Council) shall report the Government’s response within 4 months. The four-month period commences on the date of tabling. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINED TERMS AAT Administrative Appeals Tribunal ACLR Australian Company Law Reports, 1974-1989 AVA Australian Veterinary Association Limited (Western Australian Division) BDT Building Disputes Tribunal BRB Builders’ Registration Board BSQC Building Surveyors Qualifications Committee CCWA Conservation Council of Western Australia CLR Commonwealth Law Reports, 1903-current COAG Council of Australian Governments Committee Standing Committee on Legislation CSC Contaminated Sites Committee DAF Development Assessment Forum DEC Department of Environment and Conservation DFC Department for Communities DSC Disability Services Commission DOTAG Department of the Attorney General DPI Department of Planning and Infrastructure EDO Environmental Defender’s Office EDRMS Electronic document and records management system EIA Environmental impact assessment under Part IV of the Environmental Protection Act 1986 Elliot Review Review of the State Administrative Tribunal’s support processes commissioned by the Department of the Attorney General with the agreement of the SAT President and conducted by Mr Ross Elliot, consultant, Competitive Edge Services Pty Ltd. Reported in February 2007 EPA Environmental Protection Authority EP Act Environmental Protection Act 1986 FLR Federal Law Reports, 1956-current FOI Act Freedom of Information Act 1992 GA Act Guardianship and Administration Act 1990 GWC Gaming and Wagering Commission of Western Australia ICMS Integrated Case Management System operated by the Court and Tribunal Services division of the Department of the Attorney General LEADR LEADR Association of Dispute Resolvers LGPMC Local Government and Planning Ministers’ Council MBSQC Municipal Building Surveyors Qualifications Committee MHRB Mental Health Review Board NSW CTTT New South Wales Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal NSWLR New South Wales Law Reports, 1971-current OPA Office of the Public Advocate 2006 Party Survey Survey of State Administrative Tribunal parties conducted by the State Administrative Tribunal in 2005/2006 2007 Party Survey Survey of State Administrative Tribunal parties conducted by the State Administrative Tribunal in consultation with Data Analysis Australia Pty Ltd in 2006/2007 2008 Party Survey Survey of State Administrative Tribunal parties conducted by the State Administrative Tribunal in 2007/2008 PD Act Planning and Development Act 2005 PRB Painters’ Registration Board Previous Committee Standing Committee on Legislation (2001-2005) QBD Law Reports, Queen’s Bench Division (UK) 1875-1890 RPAT Racing Penalties Appeal Tribunal RWWA Racing and Wagering Western Australia SASR South Australian State Reports, 1921-current SAT State Administrative Tribunal SAT Act State Administrative Tribunal Act 2004 SAT Bills Inquiry Inquiry into the bills which proposed to establish the State Administrative Tribunal (the State Administrative Tribunal Bill 2003 and the State Administrative Tribunal (Conferral of Jurisdiction) Amendment and Repeal Bill 2003) conducted by the Standing Committee on Legislation (2001- 2005) between September 2003 and October 2004 SAT Bills Report Parliament of Western Australia, Legislative Council, Standing Committee on Legislation (2001-2005), Report 24, State Administrative Tribunal Bill 2003 and the State Administrative Tribunal (Conferral of Jurisdiction) Amendment and Repeal Bill 2003, October 2004 SAT Regulations State Administrative Tribunal Regulations 2004 SAT Rules State Administrative Tribunal Rules 2004 STB State Training Board TAC Training Accreditation Council Tribunal State Administrative Tribunal VCAT Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal VSB Veterinary Surgeons’ Board of Western Australia WACARTT Western Australian Civil and Administrative Review Tribunal Taskforce WACARTT Report Western Australian Civil and Administrative Review Tribunal Taskforce, Government of Western Australia, Western Australian Civil and Administrative Review Tribunal Taskforce Report on the Establishment of the State Administrative Tribunal, May 2002 WACOT Western Australian College of Teaching WAIRC Western Australian Industrial Relations Commission WAPC Western Australian Planning Commission WAR Western Australian Reports, 1960-current WALGA Western Australian Local Government Association WALRC Law Reform Commission of Western Australia WASAT Western Australian State Administrative Tribunal WASC Supreme Court of Western Australia, unreported judgments WASCA Supreme Court of Western Australia, Court of Appeal CONTENTS GOVERNMENT RESPONSE LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND DEFINED TERMS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ............................ i EXECUTIVE SUMMARY......................................................................................................... i The Committee’s General Observations about the Operation of the SAT................... i The Committee’s General Observations about the Jurisdiction of the SAT ...............ii The Committee’s Conclusion......................................................................................ii FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS...................................................................................ii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION............................................................................................. 1 REFERRAL ........................................................................................................................... 1 BACKGROUND TO THE SAT ................................................................................................ 1 INQUIRY PROCEDURE.......................................................................................................... 5 GENERAL FEEDBACK .......................................................................................................... 6 Feedback Resulting from this Inquiry......................................................................... 6 Feedback Resulting from an Internal Review............................................................. 8 Feedback Resulting from SAT’s 2007 Party Survey ................................................ 10 CHAPTER 2 OPERATION OF THE SAT.......................................................................... 15 OBJECTIVES OF THE SAT .................................................................................................. 15 Removing Public Confusion about Appeal Forums by creating Single Overarching Tribunal ............................................................................................................. 16 Less Formal, More Flexible Procedures than Courts................................................ 22 SAT’s Techniques for Less Formality .............................................................. 23 Less Expensive Procedures than Courts ................................................................... 33 Developing Best Tribunal Practices.......................................................................... 45 More Appropriate Administrative Justice................................................................. 46 More Timely Administrative Justice......................................................................... 49 Improving Public Accountability of Official Decision-Making ............................... 60 Avoiding ad hoc Creation of New Tribunals............................................................ 64 Appropriate Use of Knowledge and Experience of SAT Members.......................... 65 THE APPLICATION PROCESS.............................................................................................. 71 Completing the Application ...................................................................................... 71 THE SAT’S PROVISION OF NOTIFICATION AND INFORMATION........................................