NTA v Anti-Discrimination Commissioner NT

In this case, NTA challenged the decision of the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner for the Northern Territory (the Commissioner) to accept a complaint against NTA as being made out of time, and whether this decision was a “decision or order” that could be appealed under section 106 of the Anti-Discrimination Act (NT). The Commissioner argued that the decision to accept the complaint was not a final decision and therefore not appealable. The court had to decide whether the Commissioner's decision to accept the complaint was a "decision or order" that could be appealed under section 106 of the Act.

The court interpreted section 106(1) to mean that an appeal lies only from a decision or order after a hearing of the complaint by the Commissioner. The court held that the words “decision or order” in section 106(1) referred to the decision made under section 88(1) as to whether or not the prohibited conduct alleged in the complaint is substantiated. The court also held that the words “order” in section 106(1) referred to any order made under section 88 and its various sub-sections. The court concluded that the reference to “decision or order of the Commissioner” was to a decision or order under section 88 of the Act. The court's interpretation avoided the mischief of a proliferation of opportunities to appeal to the Local Court on questions of fact and law, which would be counterproductive to the purposes of the Act.

The court held that the Commissioner's decision to accept the complaint was not a "decision or order" that could be appealed under section 106 of the Act. The court held that an appeal lies only from a decision or order after a hearing of the complaint by the Commissioner. The court held that the Commissioner's decision to accept the complaint was an interlocutory decision and therefore not appealable. The court dismissed the appeal.