Lee and Decision Maker

This matter concerned an application by Mr Jeremy Lee to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) for a review of decisions made by a judge of the Federal Court of Australia. The decisions in question related to orders made by the Federal Court concerning case management and the manner of conducting hearings in proceedings initiated by Mr Lee. Mr Lee sought to have these Federal Court orders reviewed by the AAT, arguing they were administrative in character and that a Federal Court judge, as an officer of the Commonwealth, made decisions reviewable under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 (Cth).

The primary legal issue before the AAT was whether it possessed the jurisdiction to review orders made by a judge of the Federal Court of Australia concerning the conduct of proceedings before that court. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the applicant's assertion that the Federal Court orders were "administrative" in nature conferred jurisdiction upon the AAT, or if the nature of the decision-maker and the subject matter of the decision fell outside the AAT's review powers.

Deputy President McDermott RFD dismissed the application, finding that the AAT lacked jurisdiction to review orders made by a judge of the Federal Court of Australia. The Tribunal reasoned that the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth) does not confer jurisdiction to review such judicial decisions. While acknowledging that Federal Court judges are officers of the Commonwealth, the Tribunal held that this fact alone did not render their judicial orders reviewable by the AAT. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant's argument that the orders were administrative was insufficient to establish jurisdiction, as the orders pertained to the management of Federal Court proceedings, a matter exclusively within the purview of the Federal Court.

Consequently, the application was dismissed pursuant to subsection 42A(4) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth) on the basis that the decisions of which the applicant sought review were not reviewable by the Tribunal.