Page 2662 - Week 07 - Thursday, 3 July 2008
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ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal Legislation Amendment Bill 2008
Mr Corbell, pursuant to notice, presented the bill, its explanatory statement and a Human Rights Act compatibility statement.
Title read by Clerk.
MR CORBELL (Molonglo—Attorney-General, Minister for Police and Emergency Services) (10:35): I move:
That this bill be agreed to in principle.
Today I introduce the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal Legislation Amendment Bill 2008, which is the second bill dealing with the establishment of a consolidated ACT tribunal. I tabled the first bill, the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal Bill 2008, in May. The bill I am introducing today makes consequential amendments to legislation related to the establishment of the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal. Significantly, the bill collapses most existing ACT tribunals into the new ACAT. I foreshadow that it will be necessary to bring forward at least one further bill to deal with the remaining consequential provisions, especially in connection with transitional arrangements for proceedings currently before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.
I would like to acknowledge that many of these existing tribunals, boards and committees have operated for a considerable length of time, and many members have served tirelessly on these boards for years and, indeed, sometimes decades. It is a tribute to the care and attention paid by these people that, despite the large transactional volume, there have been very few appeals from the positions of tribunals.
In the past, some boards and committees were established with little by way of administrative support, even to the extent of some members not receiving remuneration for the time they have so selflessly given. After extensive consultation with stakeholders, the government has decided to consolidate most existing tribunals to create the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal to address shortcomings such as lack of support to members and registries and a range of other inefficiencies which do not promote access to justice.
The bill I am introducing today makes a wide range of consequential amendments to give effect to the ACAT bill introduced in May. It amends a number of acts to replace references to existing tribunals with references to the ACAT and to effect other necessary changes consequent to these tribunals being replaced by the ACAT. The bill also makes a series of amendments to the ACAT bill. These amendments will help standardise the powers of the ACAT in relation to occupational discipline and the practice around reviewable decision notices.
The bill makes amendments to authorising legislation relating to occupational discipline to remove the jurisdiction to the ACAT. These amendments will create
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