Duarte v Australian Maritime Safety Authority

Duarte v Australian Maritime Safety Authority was a case in which the appellant, Mr Duarte, sought a review of decisions made by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) regarding his applications for various maritime competency certificates. The Federal Court of Australia was tasked with determining whether the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) had the jurisdiction to review certain decisions made by AMSA and whether the AAT's decisions on the matter were lawful and correct. The legal issues before the court were primarily centered on the jurisdiction of the AAT to review AMSA's decisions and the correctness of the AAT's exercise of its jurisdiction.

The court began by considering whether the AAT had the jurisdiction to review AMSA's decisions. It was noted that the AAT cannot conclusively determine its own jurisdiction, a principle stemming from the case of Mutual Life & Citizens' Assurance Co Ltd v Attorney-General (Qld). Despite this, the court found it arguable that the AAT had the power to re-open the issue of its jurisdiction. However, the court concluded that it was not necessary to finally decide this issue as the outcome of the case hinged on other considerations. The court then turned to the merits of the AAT's decisions, finding that the AAT could not determine Mr Duarte's application for the issuance of a certificate because he had not passed an oral examination, a mandatory precondition for such certificates under the relevant maritime orders.

Furthermore, the court found that the AAT could not decide to permit Mr Duarte to serve on or be taken into the employment of a ship under a particular order because he already held a New South Wales Waterways certificate, which was issued or recognised under a different order. Consequently, the court held that the AAT's decision was not in error and dismissed the appeal. The court ordered that each party file and serve any submissions they wished to make as to costs by a specified date.