MTZZ and Secretary, Department of Social Services (Practice and procedure)

[2025] ARTA 1985

MTZZ and Secretary, Department of Social Services (Practice and procedure) [2025] ARTA 1985 (30 September 2025)

Applicant/s:  MTZZ 

Respondent:  Secretary, Department of Social Services

Tribunal Number:                2024/4156

Tribunal:Senior Member M Kennedy  

Place:Adelaide

Date:30 September 2025

Decision:Pursuant to section 99 of the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024, the Tribunal dismisses the application.

Statement made on 30 September 2025 at 12:18pm

Names used in all published decisions are pseudonyms. Any references appearing in square brackets indicate that information has been removed from this decision and replaced with generic information so as not to identify involved individuals as required by subsections 201(1A) - 201(1B) of the Social Security (Administration) Act 1999

Statement of Reasons

1. On 24 May 2024, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) affirmed a decision of Services Australia – Centrelink (Centrelink) to pay the applicant rent assistance from 11 December 2023, and not an earlier date.  This decision had been put in place by an authorised review officer in a decision dated 4 March 2024.

2. The applicant applied for second review of the AAT’s decision on 21 June 2024.  Since then, there appears to have been a conference on 27 September 2024 at which procedural directions were issued, and a further set of procedural directions issued on 20 January 2025. 

3. No material has been lodged by the applicant in response to these procedural directions, and the respondent Secretary has not lodged any submissions or material that was not before the first review. It appears in this regard that the second set of procedural directions were not in fact sent to the parties by the Registry in time for compliance with the timetable set down, and enquiries made by the Secretary as to the timetable were not answered.

4. In any event, the Registry set the matter down for a full hearing on 24 October 2025. I directed that the matter be listed for a telephone directions hearing to review preparation for the hearing and to satisfy myself that the matter was ready to proceed. That directions hearing was listed for today. 

5. I have noted that the Tribunal Registry issued correspondence to both parties setting out arrangements for the telephone directions hearing. The correspondence also contained information explaining that if an applicant failed to attend, the Tribunal may dismiss the application pursuant to section 99 of the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024.[1]

   [1] On 14 October 2024, the AAT was abolished and the Administrative Review Tribunal commenced operations. Under the transitional provisions in the Administrative Review Tribunal (Consequential and Transitional Provisions No. 1) Act 2024 (the Transitional Act), applications for review that were not finalised by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal before 14 October 2024 were taken to be applications for review to the Administrative Review Tribunal (hereafter the Tribunal). The Transitional Act gives the Tribunal the authority to continue and finalise any aspect of the review not already completed.

6. At the allocated time for the telephone directions hearing, and during the subsequent 20 minutes, the Tribunal registry made 7 attempts to contact the applicant, using the details she had provided to the Tribunal with her application, without success.

7. I am satisfied that the applicant failed to appear at the telephone directions hearing, and thus failed to appear at a Tribunal case event.

8. I have the option of adjourning the telephone directions hearing and arranging a new telephone directions hearing, and I have the option of proceeding directly to the full hearing that has already been listed. Alternatively, as recognised by the Respondent, it is open to me to dismiss the application under section 99 of the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024 in light of the applicant’s non-attendance.

9. The option I have selected is to dismiss the application under section 99 of the Act. I find that the applicant did not appear at a Tribunal case event and I am satisfied that the applicant received appropriate notice of the date, time and place of the case event.

10. A potential benefit of proceeding under section 99 is that it leaves open the possibility that on application from the applicant I might reinstate the application. In the event any such application is made, I would consider it on its merits.

11. I consider this to be the most appropriate outcome in this matter having regard to the resources that might otherwise be applied to rescheduling the directions hearing or proceeding with the substantive hearing in the absence of any contact with the applicant, and in the absence of the applicant taking any steps to lodge evidence or arguments in support of her case with the Tribunal over the course of the preceding 15 months.  In my view, in the absence of any outline of the applicant’s case, and in the absence of a statement of facts issues and contentions having been lodged by the Secretary, the matter is not ready to proceed to final hearing in any event.  It is inappropriate that I put parties to the work of preparing the matter for hearing in circumstances where the applicant has not attended a Tribunal case event.

12. I dismiss the application for review.