Waheed and Secretary, Attorney-General's Department

This matter concerned an application for review of a decision by the Secretary, Attorney-General's Department, which affirmed an initial determination that the applicant, Mr Waheed, was ineligible for an advance under the Fair Entitlements Guarantee (FEG) scheme. The Department's decision was based on the applicant being an "excluded employee" under section 11(1) of the FEG Act, due to being a director of the company, Matchbyte, at the relevant time and thus an excluded employee for the purposes of section 556 of the *Corporations Act 2001* (Cth). The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) conducted a hearing of the application for review.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant was correctly characterised as an "excluded employee" under the FEG Act, specifically by reason of his status as a director of the company in liquidation. This determination hinged on the interpretation and application of section 11(1) of the FEG Act and its reference to section 556 of the *Corporations Act 2001* (Cth).

The Tribunal affirmed the Department's decision. It reasoned that the applicant's role and responsibilities within Matchbyte, as evidenced by the material before it, established that he was a director for the purposes of the *Corporations Act 2001* (Cth). Consequently, he fell within the definition of an excluded employee under section 11(1) of the FEG Act, thereby rendering him ineligible for FEG assistance.