Page 4439 - Week 14 - Thursday, 9 December 1993
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ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL (AMENDMENT) BILL 1993
MR CONNOLLY (Attorney-General, Minister for Housing and Community Services and Minister for Urban Services) (11.12): Madam Speaker, I present the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Amendment) Bill 1993.
Title read by Clerk.
MR CONNOLLY: Madam Speaker, I move:
That this Bill be agreed to in principle.
Madam Speaker, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (Amendment) Bill 1993 will amend those provisions of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1989 dealing with the determination of fees. Section 59 of the Act provides for the determination of fees and allowances or expenses to be paid to a person summoned to appear as a witness before the tribunal and for the determination of fees payable in respect of applications to the tribunal. Presently a determination may make provision for the refund of fees in respect of applications to the tribunal where a procedure terminates in a manner favourable to the applicant.
The Bill will amend section 59 by removing those provisions dealing with application fees so that that section will deal with witnesses' fees and allowances only, will insert sections 59A, 59B, 59C, 59D and 59E into the Act which will implement a new fees and charges regime and will make a clarifying amendment of subsection 59(2). Amendment of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act in this way is part of a larger legislative exercise to introduce comparable fees and charges provisions across the range of ACT courts and tribunal legislation.
The fees and charges provisions are modelled on those proposed for the Magistrates Court Act. They include a similar wide head of power to determine fees and charges and have similar provisions relating to exemptions from payment, remission or refund of fees. Again, there will be a right of review by the tribunal in respect of an unfavourable decision of the registrar, and once again determinations of fees will be disallowable and will be brought into this Assembly. While the determination may provide for some exemptions, section 59C will also set out circumstances in which fees and charges are not payable. No fee or charge will be payable by a person receiving legal assistance under the Legal Aid Act 1977, or assistance provided under an existing provision, or by other schemes or services approved or provided by the Attorney-General. Also, under the current determination, the application fee is refunded if an application terminates in a manner favourable to an applicant, and this will now be reflected in section 59C. Section 59D will introduce a significant benefit to some applicants as it will allow the registrar to order that only one application fee is payable where two or more applications relate to the same applicant and the applications may conveniently be heard by the tribunal together.
These initiatives are in line with the Government's desire that review by the tribunal should be as inexpensive as is reasonably possible. I commend the Bill to the Legislative Assembly and I present the explanatory memorandum. When you have 20 FOI applications relating to the same matter, Mr De Domenico, you might save on your filing fees. Madam Speaker, I will be conducting a quiz on all of those Bills together at lunchtime.
Debate (on motion by Mr Humphries) adjourned.
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