Lewtas and Comcare (Compensation)

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision by Comcare, lodged by the Applicant on 8 April 2016. The dispute centred on the Applicant's failure to comply with directions issued by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) regarding the filing of her witness statement. The AAT, constituted by Member L M Gallagher, was required to determine whether to dismiss the Applicant's application for non-compliance.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the Applicant had failed to comply with a direction within a reasonable time, and consequently, whether the application should be dismissed pursuant to section 42A(5) of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975*. The Tribunal also considered the reasons provided for the Applicant's non-compliance and whether those reasons justified an extension of time or warranted dismissal of the application.

The Tribunal's reasoning focused on the Applicant's repeated failures to meet filing deadlines and the lack of a consistent or substantiated explanation for these delays. While initial delays were attributed to the Applicant's health and the need to obtain instructions, a subsequent letter from the Applicant's representative on 10 August 2017 cited the Applicant's "work schedule" as the reason for failing to file her statement by the extended deadline of 11 August 2017, making no reference to her health. The Tribunal noted that the Applicant's representative had previously agreed that medical evidence would be required if the Applicant needed a lengthy period to prepare her statement. Given the lack of a satisfactory explanation for the continued non-compliance and the potential prejudice to the Respondent, the Tribunal found that the Applicant had failed to comply with directions within a reasonable time.

The Tribunal ordered that the Applicant's application for review be dismissed.