Robin Creyke

Tribunals: Divergence and Loss

It is clear that tribunals are a permanent feature of the administrative law landscape. The concept of merit review of administrative decisions by bodies other than courts1 has survived initial resistance from the executive,2 distrust by the courts,3 the managerialist pressures of the 1980s, and the downsizing, outsourcing movements of the 1990s.4 As Pearce commented,5 the recommendation in the Better Decisions report in 19956—the most comprehensive examination of the Commonwealths merit review system since the 1970s—that merits review tribunals should be retained, albeit in a more integrated structure, is evidence of that acceptance. The Coalition Government, not without some struggle,7 broadly accepted that recommendation and the results, in the Administrative Review Tribunal Bill 2000 (ART Bill) and the Administrative Review Tribunal (Consequential and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2000 (ART (CTP)

Judicial Review and Merits Review: Are the Boundaries Being Eroded?

Courts and tribunals have distinct roles within the Australian administrative law system at the federal level, and to a lesser extent, in the states and territories. Questions of law are for the courts, and questions of fact are for the executive and tribunals. From time to time this orthodoxy is questioned. Suggestions are made that the courts are increasingly tending to intrude into the province of tribunals. Using cases as illustrations, this article explores five relevant jurisdictional areas —from appeals on a question of law to deference under the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 (Cth) s 10(2)(b)(ii)—to test the accuracy of the suggestion.

Executive Power - New Wine in Old Bottles?

The twentieth century has witnessed the growth of regulation by government, focusing attention of administrative lawyers, the judiciary and public administration on the legislative source of their powers and obligations, where the formerly more important executive power, tended to be eclipsed. In order to turn around this neglect, the reliance on unwritten law, of which executive power is a part, is on the upsurge either as a free-standing concept or as a source of authority to fill statutory interstices and hence, the continuing need for and viability of the safety net function served by the common law, including executive power is emphasised.