Legal System Publications

This report makes recommendations that may be summarised as favouring merits review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal of most of the decisions of the Patents Commissioner.

The report contains recommendations relating to: the preparation of appropriate contracts; and, the application of both private and administrative law in situations where services are provided by private contractors.

In the report, the Council recommends the scope of review under section 44 should remain unchanged, and the Federal Court's powers be expanded slightly, to give it a discretion to receive evidence and to make findings of fact where there has been an error of law.

The report contains 106 recommendations, designed to give full effect to the Australian people's right of access to government-held information. Recommendations were made to ensure that the Freedom of Information Act 1982 is interpreted in a way that gives proper effect to its objectives.

The report contains 102 recommendations. The first 86 concern matters of general application to all tribunals and the last 16 recommendations concern the structure of the review tribunal system, and the relationship between its constituent parts.

The report set out general principles to assist the Government to determine how the Commonwealth's administrative law package should apply to Government Business Enterprises.

The report divided the various programs and funding arrangements into those which the Commonwealth funds. The Council examined the appropriate form of review for the different types of programs, and sought to draw out general principles for review.

The Council made nine recommendations for reform in the report. They were not as broad in scope as the preliminary views expressed in the discussion paper due to the views expressed during the consultation process, and the intervening reform of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal practices and procedures.

The report contains 31 recommendations concerning procedures in respect of instruments that are of a legislative character. After substantial revisions, the Legislative Instruments Bill 2003 was passed on 2 December 2003.

Survey results undertaken for the report showed widespread ignorance of the existence of administrative review agencies;, and a limited understanding of the concept of administrative review, A second survey after the intervention activities showed that educating this sector of the Australian community had been substantially met.

The report contains 26 recommendations, and was transmitted to the Government on 14 February 1991.

The report contains 17 recommendations. The Government decided that it would not respond to this report, until the Council's report on statements of reasons had been completed.

The report examines discretionary powers under Industry Research and Development Legislation. The report contains 14 recommendations, most of which recommend that particular decisions ought to be made subject to review by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

In the report, the Council makes seven recommendations and was referred to the National Legal Aid Advisory Committee, in accordance with the Council's recommendations. The NLAAC reported to the Government on Legal Aid for the Australian Community in July 1990.

The report deals with five principal matters. Issues arising were subsumed into the review of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The Council provided a submission to that review in March 1991.

The report contains eight recommendations, and was transmitted to the Government on 6 February 1987, and tabled in the Parliament on 3 June 1987.

The report set out the Council's views on notification of administrative decisions and rights of review in respect of those decisions. It contains five recommendations, the fifth being for a Code of Practice for administrators in relation to notification of decisions and rights of review.

This report constituted the first stage of a major examination of the operation of the Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977 ('AD(JR) Act').

The Council considered that there was a need for a system of external review on the merits to be available in respect of many migration decisions. The Council also specified the classes of decisions that it considered should be subject to review, in accordance with the proposed two-tier structure of merits review.

The report contains five recommendations. In February 1990 the Customs (Cinematograph Films) Regulations and the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations were amended to give effect to Council's recommendations.