legal / role of tribunals

Ombudsmen

an officeholder with power to investigate and report on complaints relating to administrative action taken by government departments and other authorities.

Complaints body

an organisation established by parliament to resolve formal grievances (i.e. complaints) made by an individual about the conduct of another party.

representative proceeding

a legal proceeding in which a group of people who have a claim based on similar or related facts bring that claim to court in the name of one person

vcat

a tribunal that deals with disputes relating to a range of civil issues that are heard by various ‘lists’ (i.e sections) of the tribunal.

Member

the person who presides over final hearings and compulsory conferences at the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal

the role of tribunals in resolving disputes

tribunals are dispute resolution bodies that obtain their power to resolve certain types of disputes from parliament.

the purpose of tribunals

to provide individuals with a low-cost, efficient and speedy method of dispute resolution. therefore, tribunals increase the community’s access to justice

the purpose of tribunals (continued)

tribunals do not have power to hear representative proceedings (class actions)

administrative appeals tribunal (AAT) COMMONWEALTH

hears cases in which a party is seeking an independent review of a decision made by the commonwealth government.

fair work commission (FWC) COMMONWEALTH

has the power to carry out a range of functions such as resolving workplace disputes through mediation, conciliation and in some cases through public hearings

national native title tribunal COMMONWEALTH

can hear and determine native title claims, which are applications in relation the recognition of land title unique to indigenous people

vicitm of crime assistance tribunal (VOCAT) VICTORIA

to provide financial assistance to victims of violent crime.

victorian civil and administrarive tribunal (VCAT) VICTORIA

‘one stop shop’ for parties and deals with a broad range of civil disputes, including small civil claims

mental health tribunal VICTORIA

seeks to protect people with mental illness. one of its functions is to ehar applications made by mental health patients who wish to challenge a treatment order that has been made against them or who wish to be transferred to another designated mental health service

VCAT

deals with a large number and variety of civil disputes, and is made up of five divisions as administrative, civil, human rights, planning and environment, residential tenancies divisions.

VCAT continued

VCATS president (who must be sitting a supreme court judge) and vice presidents (who must be sitting county court judges) are responsible for the adminstration of VCAT

VCAT provides victorians with a low cost accessible, efficient, independent tribunal tat delivers high quality dispute resolutions by…

charging low fees for a person to file their claim and have their matter heard, aiming to have cases heard within weeks of having an application being filed, having a variety of locations in victoria