Clarkson v St Vincent De Paul Samaritan Services

Clarkson sought leave to appeal a decision of the ACT Administrative Appeal Tribunal, which had dismissed his challenge to a decision by St Vincent De Paul Samaritan Services. Clarkson had applied to the Tribunal for internal review of the decision, which was also dismissed. The primary dispute was whether the tribunal's denial of procedural fairness during the internal review process warranted an appeal to a higher court.

The court considered whether there was a question of law or fact that warranted an appeal. Clarkson argued that the tribunal had failed to provide reasons for its decision during the internal review, which constituted a denial of procedural fairness. The court noted that while the tribunal's failure to give reasons was problematic, the existence of an internal appeal process within the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (ACAT) provided an opportunity for Clarkson to remedy any such denial of procedural fairness. However, there was insufficient evidence before the court regarding what had transpired during the internal appeal hearing to establish that a substantial miscarriage of justice had occurred.

The court found that the onus was on Clarkson to demonstrate a case for appeal, and no such question of fact or law was identified. The application for leave to appeal was dismissed. The court emphasised the importance of providing reasons for decisions and highlighted the need for parties to be informed of their entitlement to obtain reasons, but found that in this case, the internal appeal process had been available and no substantial miscarriage of justice was demonstrated. Consequently, the application was dismissed, and no appeal was permitted.