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Page 1: Introduction

ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL - BUILDING ON 30 YEARS OF

INDEPENDENT MERITS REVIEW

The Hon. Justice Garry Downes AMPresident

Administrative Appeals Tribunal

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Introduction

• 30 years of review by the AAT

• Issues relating to veterans’ entitlements and military compensation applications

• Developments in alternative dispute resolution

• Expert evidence

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Practice and Procedure Issues

• Jurisdiction and workload in relation to military compensation and veterans’ entitlements

• Differences between applications under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 and the Veterans’ Entitlements Act 1986 relevant to Tribunal review

• Impact of commencement of the Military Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2004

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Practice and Procedure Issues

• General review of practice and procedure at the Tribunal

– Limitations of the General Practice Direction

– Proposal for improving communication of Tribunal expectations and requirements

– Development of jurisdiction-specific guides

– Timetable for review of major jurisdictions

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Practice and Procedure Issues

• Review of veterans’ entitlements and military compensation decisions

– General review to be undertaken of how these applications are best managed

– Direction that all applications to be dealt with in the Veterans’ Appeals Division

– Proposal to rename the Veterans’ Appeals Division as the Veterans’ and Military Compensation Division

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Alternative Dispute Resolution

• Amendments to the Act in 2005

• Five ADR processes now available: conferences, conciliation, mediation, case appraisal and neutral evaluation

• Implementation of amendments

– Development of process models for each type of ADR

– Development of referral guidelines

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Alternative Dispute Resolution

• Tribunal approach to use of conferencing and other forms of ADR

• Roll-out and evaluation of ADR changes

• Scope for use of new forms of ADR in military compensation and veterans’ entitlements applications

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Expert Evidence

• The value of single or court-appointed experts

– Perceived problems with expert evidence

– Decision-making and the role of expert evidence

– Issues relating to use of single experts

– Clarification of Tribunal expectations in relation to the use of experts

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Expert Evidence

• Concurrent evidence

– Use of concurrent evidence in the Tribunal and its benefits

– Tribunal study and its findings

– Development of guidelines relating to the use of concurrent evidence

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Conclusion


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