The Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 provides that a party to a proceeding before the AAT may appeal to the Court on a question of law from any decision of the AAT in that proceeding.
Questions of law might include:
whether the AAT denied procedural fairness to a party; or
whether the AAT incorrectly interpreted a statute relevant to the proceeding.
Who hears appeals from the AAT?
Usually an appeal from the AAT will be heard by a single Judge of the Federal Court.
In certain circumstances (for example, where at least one of the members of the AAT that gave the decision was a Judge) the appeal will be heard by a Full Court of the Federal Court.
The Federal Court may also transfer an appeal from the Federal Court to the Federal Magistrates Court.
What are the chances of success?
For an appeal from a decision of the AAT to succeed you must convince the Judge hearing the appeal that the AAT made an error of law and that the error contributed to the decision you are appealing from.
Errors of law might include:
denying procedural fairness to a party; or
incorrectly interpreting a statute relevant to the proceeding.
Howeve, even when an error of law is demonstrated, the Judge may dismiss the appeal if he or she considers that the AAT arrived at a decision that was clearly correct on the material before it.
The Judge hearing an appeal from a decision of the AAT:
does not consider any new evidence or information that was not presented in the original case (except in special circusmtances);
does not call witnesses to give evidence;
does read all the relevant documents filed by the parties in the original case;
does listen to legal argument from both parties to the appeal.
What if someone is appealing against a decision in my favour?
If you have been served with a Notice of Appeal you will be known as the respondent in the appeal proceeding. You will need to enter an appearance in the matter by filing a Form 15: Notice of Appearance.
If you also want to appeal part of the AAT decision or to have part of the AAT decision varied, you must fill out a Notice of Cross Appeal.
Legal advice
Drafting a Notice of Appeal or Cross Appeal is very difficult. It is therefore strongly recommended that a Notice of Appeal be prepared with legal assistance.
If you lose an appeal from a decision of the AAT you will usually be ordered to pay the other party's legal costs.
Interpreters
The Court may arrange for an interpreter to come to the hearing of the appeal. If you need an interpreter you must contact the registry of the Coutrt at least one week before the hearing. If you do not contact the registry they may not be able to get an interpreter and the hearing will be delayed.
You can also call 131 450 and speak to a telephone interpreter.
