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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1998 Week 5 Hansard (27 August) . . Page.. 1487 ..

MR HUMPHRIES (continuing):

in commercial and retail tenancy relationships. Indeed, in December last year the ACT was the first jurisdiction to enact an enhanced definition of "unconscionable conduct" as recommended by the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Technology in its report "Finding a Balance: Towards Fair Trading in Australia". However, the Government does not propose to rest there and sees the implementation of the working party's report as a means of improving the effectiveness of the existing laws so that the ACT remains at the forefront in this important area.

The review of the existing legislation was conducted over an 18-month period by a working party consisting of landlord and tenant representatives and representatives from other interested organisations, including the Law Society of the ACT, the ACT Bar Association, the ACT Tenancy Tribunal, the Australian Retailers Association and the ACT Chamber of Commerce. The working party's report covers over 200 recommendations for changes to the Act and the code. Considering its broadly representative nature, it is a measure of the working party's commitment to genuine reform that over 150 of those recommendations were agreed to unanimously.

In response to the working party's report, I am pleased to say that the Government has been able to accept the overwhelming majority of the working party's recommendations. Extensive amendment to the legislation will be necessary as a result and, given the Government's acceptance of one of the key recommendations, that the Tenancy Tribunal Act 1994 and the commercial and retail leases code of practice be consolidated, it is proposed that a new Act be drafted. Such a consolidation will also overcome many of the inconsistencies identified between provisions of the Act and the code.

Details of the Government's response to each recommendation in the report are contained in the accompanying document which I have tabled with this statement. However, I would like to mention specifically the Government's view on some of its key recommendations which were primarily concerned with procedural and jurisdictional matters. The working party identified a range of problems with the present operation of the Tenancy Tribunal and expressed concern about the lack of clear procedures to assist parties appearing before the tribunal. The working party made a series of unanimous recommendations for procedural reform, particularly the need for more formal procedural rules and for machinery provisions similar to those of the Magistrates Court. A majority of the working party also recommended that the Tenancy Tribunal should become part of the Magistrates Court as a separate division of that court. I note also the working party's call for better resourcing for commercial and retail tenancy matters.

The Government generally accepts those recommendations. At present the Tenancy Tribunal is physically located in the same building as the Magistrates Court and shares its support staff and facilities, although having its own specified jurisdiction. The Government notes that in practice the majority of disputes which go to hearing are complex, often involving substantial amounts of money. In such cases full disclosure and identification of issues in dispute is important and parties should not be taken by ambush.

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