Carpenter and Secretary, Department of Social Services (Social services second review)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered the application of Carpenter for a review of a decision by the Secretary, Department of Social Services. The dispute concerned Carpenter's failure to comply with directions issued by the Tribunal in relation to her application for review.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it should dismiss Carpenter's application for review due to her non-compliance with the Tribunal's directions. The Tribunal was required to determine if the circumstances warranted the exercise of its power to dismiss the application under the relevant provisions of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth).

The Tribunal reasoned that the power to dismiss an application for failure to comply with directions is a significant one, and its exercise requires careful consideration. It noted that while compliance with directions is essential for the efficient administration of justice, a dismissal should generally only occur after a party has been given a clear opportunity to comply and has failed to do so, or where the non-compliance is so significant as to prevent the Tribunal from proceeding with the review. In this instance, the Tribunal found that Carpenter had not been afforded a sufficient opportunity to remedy her non-compliance. Consequently, the Tribunal decided not to dismiss the application at that stage. The Tribunal made orders that Carpenter was to comply with the outstanding directions by a specified date, failing which the application would be listed for further consideration of dismissal.