The Estate of the Late Ashley Pauling; Secretary, Department of Social Services and (Social services second review)

This matter concerned the Estate of the Late Ashley Pauling, with the Secretary of the Department of Social Services as the respondent. The dispute before the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was whether Mr Kelly, acting on behalf of the estate, was a party to the proceedings. The Tribunal was required to determine if Mr Kelly had standing to participate in the review of a decision, given that the original applicant, Ashley Pauling, had died during the proceedings.

The central legal issue was whether the AAT had jurisdiction to review the decision in the absence of a formal application by the estate to be joined as a party. This required the Tribunal to consider the provisions of sections 30(1) and (1A) of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (AAT Act), which define the parties to proceedings and the process by which other persons may become parties. The Tribunal had to ascertain whether Mr Kelly, authorised by the administrator of the estate, Ms Halliday, met the criteria to be considered a party under the AAT Act.

The Tribunal reasoned that, following the precedent set in *Andreatta and Commissioner for Superannuation*, where a statutory entitlement devolves upon the death of an applicant, the person to whom that entitlement devolves must apply under section 30(1A) of the AAT Act to be made a party. The Tribunal found that while Ms Halliday, as the administrator, was authorised to act for the estate, and had authorised Mr Kelly, neither she nor Mr Kelly had formally applied to be made a party to the proceedings. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to review the decision unless and until such an application was made by the Estate of the Late Ashley Pauling pursuant to section 30(1A) of the AAT Act.