EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL REGULATIONS (AMENDMENTS
Statutory Rules 1987 No. 181
Issued by the Authority of the Attorney-General
Sub-section 70(1) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
Sub-section 70(2) of the Act provides that, without limiting the generality of sub-section (1), the regulations may make provision prescribing fees to be payable in respect of applications to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal), and providing for the refund, in whole or part, of fees so paid where the proceeding terminates in a manner favourable to the applicant. The sub-section further provides that regulations prescribing fees may prescribe fees in respect of a particular class or classes of applications only and prescribe different fees in respect of different classes of applications.
These regulations amend the principal regulations. The purpose of the regulations is to increase to $240 the fee of $200 formerly payable in respect of applications to the Tribunal (other than prescribed classes of applications, for which no fee is payable) pursuant to regulation 19 of the principal regulations. This implements the Government’s decision to maintain the fee payable in respect of applications to the Tribunal at the same level as the fee payable on lodging a document initiating a proceeding in the original jurisdiction of the Federal Court of Australia. On 1 September 1987 the relevant Federal Court fee was increased from $200 to $240.
Details of the new regulations are as follows:
Regulation 1 provides that the regulations shall come into operation on 17 September 1987.
Regulation 2 amends regulation 19 of the principal regulations by omitting from subregulation (1) the figure $200 and substituting $240.
Overview
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal Regulations (Amendments) Statutory Rules 1987 No. 181 were enacted to align the fees for applications to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal with those for initiating proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia. This amendment was introduced to address a gap in the current regulatory framework that did not adequately reflect the updated fee structure set by the Federal Court. The regulations were made under the authority of the Attorney-General, pursuant to sub-section 70(1) of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975, to ensure consistency and fairness in the fees charged across federal judicial and quasi-judicial processes. The primary objective, as stated in the explanatory statement, is to maintain the application fee at the same level as the Federal Court's fee, which was increased on 1 September 1987 from $200 to $240.
Scope and Application
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal Regulations (Amendments) Statutory Rules 1987 No. 181 apply to the regulation of fees for applications to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal) as prescribed under the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975. These regulations are applicable to all persons and entities that seek to lodge an application with the Tribunal, except for those prescribed classes of applications for which no fee is payable. The changes implemented by these regulations have a Commonwealth jurisdictional reach, reflecting the federal nature of the Tribunal’s operations. The primary amendment involves increasing the application fee from $200 to $240, aligning it with the corresponding fee for initiating a proceeding in the Federal Court of Australia, as decided by the Government. The regulations came into effect on 17 September 1987, with the increased fee reflecting the fee changes implemented on 1 September 1987 in the Federal Court.
Key Provisions
The primary operative sections of these regulations concern the amendment of the fee structure for applications to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AATA). Specifically, regulation 2 replaces the previous $200 fee with a new fee of $240 for applications to the AATA, as stated in regulation 19 of the principal regulations (regulation 2). This amendment aligns the AATA application fee with the fee for initiating a proceeding in the Federal Court of Australia, which was increased to $240 on 1 September 1987. Regulation 1 specifies that these new regulations will come into effect on 17 September 1987 (regulation 1).
These amendments impose certain obligations on parties or entities governed by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975. Firstly, applicants lodging an application with the AATA must now pay a fee of $240, as opposed to the previous $200 fee. This change affects all applications that do not fall into a prescribed class where no fee is payable. Additionally, the amendments necessitate that the AATA update its systems and processes to reflect this new fee structure, ensuring that the updated fee is accurately applied to all applicable applications received after the regulations come into operation on 17 September 1987.
The regulations do not explicitly detail offences, penalties, or consequences for non-compliance. However, it can be inferred that failure to pay the correct fee as stipulated by these regulations could result in the application being rejected or delayed. While the specific consequences of such non-compliance are not detailed in the explanatory statement, it is reasonable to assume that the AATA would follow its usual procedures for handling incomplete or incorrectly paid applications, which may include requesting the correct fee or dismissing the application if the fee is not paid. The regulations, however, do not specify any maximum penalties for such breaches.