Hickey and Australian Postal Corporation (Compensation)

This matter concerned an application before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal concerning compensation. The applicant, Hickey, sought to have the matter remitted to a differently constituted tribunal, alleging a reasonable apprehension of bias. The respondent was the Australian Postal Corporation.

The primary legal issue before Deputy President Boyle was whether there was a reasonable apprehension of bias if the matter were to be constituted to Member Gallagher, as would ordinarily occur under the Tribunal's practice directions. The Tribunal was also required to consider whether factors such as cost, convenience, efficient resource use, and the fulfilment of statutory objectives favoured constituting the matter to the same member.

Deputy President Boyle determined that there was no reasonable apprehension of bias. The Tribunal applied the objective test for apprehended bias, considering whether a fair-minded lay observer, informed of all the relevant facts, would apprehend that the member might not bring an impartial mind to the issues. The Deputy President found that the considerations of cost, convenience, and efficient use of resources weighed heavily in favour of remitting the matter to Member Gallagher. Furthermore, the applicant had not demonstrated any reason to depart from the general practice outlined in President’s Direction 6.2, which favours remittal to the tribunal as previously constituted.

Accordingly, the matter was remitted to Member Gallagher for reconsideration.