Lavin and Inspector-General in Bankruptcy

The applicant, Lavin, sought judicial review of a decision made by the Inspector-General in Bankruptcy. The dispute concerned the Inspector-General's refusal to review a decision previously made by a trustee in bankruptcy. The matter came before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it possessed the power to review the trustee's original decision, given that the Inspector-General had refused to conduct a review of that decision. This required the Tribunal to characterise the Inspector-General's refusal and determine its impact on the Tribunal's jurisdiction.

The Tribunal reasoned that the Inspector-General's decision was specifically a refusal to review the trustee's decision, rather than a review of the trustee's decision itself. Applying the relevant legislative provisions, the Tribunal concluded that where the Inspector-General refuses to review a trustee's decision, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal does not have the power to review the trustee's original decision. Consequently, the Tribunal held that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the application.