Gunn and Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation

This matter concerned an application by Mr Peter Gunn (the Applicant) to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for a declaration that a statement of reasons provided by the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC) (the Respondent) was inadequate. The Applicant had initially sought a statement of reasons following a decision made by the CSC regarding his classification under the Defence Force Retirement and Death Benefits Act 1973. Subsequently, the parties reached an agreement resolving the underlying dispute, and jointly sought the dismissal of the application for a declaration.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it possessed the power to dismiss the application for a declaration, given that the parties had resolved their dispute by consent. Specifically, the Tribunal considered whether sections 42A and 42C of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (AAT Act), which provide for dismissal by consent, were applicable. These sections are conditioned on the existence of an application for review of a decision, which was not the nature of the Applicant's current application.

The Tribunal reasoned that the Applicant's request for a declaration under section 28(5) of the AAT Act was a preliminary process distinct from an application for review of the CSC's decision. Consequently, the specific dismissal provisions of sections 42A and 42C were not directly applicable. However, the Tribunal found that it possessed a general power to accept the parties' joint advice that they had resolved the matter. The Tribunal determined that the Applicant's withdrawal of the request for a declaration, in light of the resolution, should be taken as a dismissal of the application. The Tribunal noted that the Applicant had withdrawn his application for a declaration under s 28(5) of the AAT Act, and the effect of that withdrawal was that the application for a declaration was taken to have been dismissed.