De Maria and Secretary, Department of Education and Training

This matter concerned an application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) by Mr. De Maria (the Applicant) seeking review of a decision made by the Secretary, Department of Education and Training (the Respondent). The core dispute revolved around whether the AAT had jurisdiction to hear the Applicant's appeal, with the Respondent arguing that the original decision was not a "reviewable decision" under the relevant legislation.

The legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it possessed jurisdiction to review the original decision, specifically whether that decision constituted a "reviewable decision" within the meaning of section 104-25 of the Act, or, more critically, whether it purported to have been made in the exercise of the powers conferred by that section. The Respondent contended that if the original decision was not made under section 104-25, it could not be a reviewable decision and therefore the Tribunal lacked jurisdiction.

The Tribunal applied the principle established in *Collector of Customs (New South Wales) v Brian Lawlor Automotive Pty Ltd*, often referred to as the Lawlor principle. This principle dictates that the Tribunal has jurisdiction if a decision exists and purports to have been made under the relevant enactment, irrespective of whether it was validly made or whether the action taken was correct. In this instance, the original decision, while referencing section 36-20(1) of the Higher Education Support Act 2003 (HESA) and its associated tests, was found to be potentially defective as it concerned a unit from which the Applicant had not accrued a FEE-HELP debt and was not a Commonwealth Supported Unit. Despite these potential defects, the Tribunal found that the decision purported to be made under the relevant legislative framework, thus attracting the Tribunal's jurisdiction.

The Tribunal refused the Respondent's application to dismiss the matter, finding that it had jurisdiction to review the decision based on the Lawlor principle.