Preface
Terms of Reference
On 18 September 1996, the Senate referred the following matters relating
to the Administrative Review Council (ARC) to the Committee for inquiry
and report by the last sitting day in 1996:
The optimal role and function of the ARC and the relationship between
the ARC and other relevant bodies including, but not limited to, the Attorney-General's
Department, other Commonwealth departments, Commonwealth merits review
tribunals, the Australian Law Reform Commission, tertiary institutions,
the private sector, and territory and state agencies, with particular
reference to:
(a) the benefit of a separate and permanent administrative law advisory
body;
(b) the membership structure of the ARC;
(c) the functions and powers of the ARC;
(d) the effectiveness of the ARC in performing its functions and any
obstacles to that effectiveness; and
(e) the need for any amendment to Part V of the Administrative Appeals
Tribunal Act.
On 19 November 1996, the Senate agreed to extend the reporting date to
the last sitting day in June 1997.
The suggestion that the inquiry be held came from the Attorney-General,
the Hon Daryl Williams, AM QC MP. [1]
Conduct of the Inquiry
The former Chair of the Committee wrote to a broad range of persons and
organisations seeking submissions to the inquiry. It did not advertise
the inquiry in the media. A total of 26 submissions were received. The
details of the submissions appear in Appendix 1.
The Committee held only one hearing on this inquiry. This was because
most groups and individuals indicated that their submissions adequately
reflected their views and that they had no further comments to make. The
names of those who appeared at the hearing in Canberra on 7 April 1997
are set out in Appendix 2.
Acknowledgments
The Committee records its appreciation to all those who made submissions,
appeared before it, or otherwise assisted its inquiry.
Senator Eric Abetz
Chair
The Senate
Canberra
June 1997
Footnotes
[1]. Senate Legal and Constitutional Legislation
Committee, Hansard: Consideration of Estimates, 19 September
1996, p. LC117 (Mr S Skehill).