Baldry and District Registrar, Administrative Appeals Tribunal

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for review of a decision by the District Registrar to refuse a request for a fee reduction. The applicant sought to have the prescribed application fee for a review reduced on the grounds of financial hardship.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the payment of the prescribed application fee would cause or had caused the applicant financial hardship, as contemplated by the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* and the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Regulation 2015*. This required an assessment of the applicant's income, expenses, assets, and liabilities.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had not demonstrated that payment of the prescribed application fee would cause or had caused financial hardship. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the District Registrar's decision to refuse the fee reduction.