NT Bill Introduced As First Stage In Establishing Civil And Administrative Tribunal

A bill to establish a Civil and Administrative Tribunal was introduced into the Northern Territory’s Legislative Assembly last Thursday, 15 May 2014.

Attorney–General John Elferink said that the new Tribunal was designed to “remove unnecessary duplication and inefficiencies”.  If the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal Bill 2014 passes, it would leave Tasmania as the only state without an equivalent body, as similar tribunals have been established in all other states - in Victoria (1998), Western Australia (2004), the Australian Capital Territory (2009), Queensland (2009), South Australia (2013) and New South Wales (2014).

The bill also follows two Northern Territory Law Reform Committee Reports which both recommended the establishment of a tribunal system capable of reviewing administrative decision making.

Proposed Structure

The proposal is that the Tribunal will be led by a president, appointed by the Northern Territory’s Administrator, who must be a magistrate or a person eligible for appointment as a magistrate (s 13(1)). The President will be assisted by at least one Deputy President, subject to the same eligibility critera (s 15).  It will consist of both legally qualified members (who must be legal practitioners of no less than five years standing) and of ordinary members who may be from different fields or vocations that relate to the jurisdiction of the Tribunal (s 16). They will be appointed for a maximum period of five years (s 17). 

The President will nominate not more than 3 members to constitute the Tribunal for each proceedings (s 22).  Questions of law can be referred to the President who may in turn refer the question to the Supreme Court (s 28).

Jurisdiction

The Tribunal will be able to exercise both original and review jurisdiction (s 31).  The Bill currently in Parliament deals only with the establishment, composition and procedures of the Tribunal.  Mr Elferink told Parliament that “[c]onferral of jurisdiction will be the subject of a series of separate bills” and that up to 117 acts will be amended as part of the legislative process.  These jurisdiction bills have not yet been introduced into Parliament.

Powers

The Tribunal will have the power to summon people to give evidence or to produce evidentiary material (s 89).  Failure to comply could result in a six-month term of imprisonment (s 90(1)).  The Tribunal will also have the power to enter and inspect property relevant to a proceeding  (s 93).

The Tribunal may also order parties to partake in alternative dispute resolution proceedings (Division 4).

A media release from Mr Elferink said that the Bill is expected to be debated when Parliament sits again in August.  The first of the jurisdiction bills is also expected to be introduced then.

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Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal Bill 2014 & supplementary materials - available from LawOne by TimeBase.

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