Court Appeals after an unfavourable decision by Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT second review) 109-03050000

All parties to an AAT second review appeal have a further right of appeal to the Federal Court. Decisions of the Full Federal Court may be appealed, by leave, to the High Court. Both the customer and the government organisation can appeal a decision of the AAT second review to the Federal Court.

An appeal to the Federal Court in respect of a decision following the AAT second review can only be made on a point of law. The AAT has the final say on any issues of fact. The courts will consider whether the AAT has correctly interpreted and applied the law.

The Federal Court is the first level of appeal, and is a formal judicial process. The matter is heard and decided by a single judge.

Some matters may be referred from the Federal Court to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFOA), which is intended to provide a simple and accessible alternative to the Federal Court. The decision of the FCFOA may then be appealed back to the Federal Court.

Decisions of a single judge of the Federal Court can be appealed to the Full Bench of the Federal Court, with three judges deciding the matter. Some AAT second review decisions go directly to the Full Federal Court although, with the agreement of all parties, they can be remitted to be considered by a single judge first.

A decision of the Full Federal Court can in turn be challenged in the High Court. The High Court is the highest level of appeal, consisting of formal appeal consideration by three to seven judges. Although it is often concerned with constitutional matters, the High Court is also the final level of appeal for most jurisdictions, including the State Supreme Courts. Access to the High Court is not automatic. The appellant must seek and obtain special leave to appeal, which can be a significant process in itself.

There are time limits on lodging appeals. If a person takes longer than the limit to lodge an appeal the court holds a hearing to determine whether it should accept the appeal.

Unlike most appeals to the AAT, there are costs associated with court appeals. For example, there is a fee to lodge an appeal and there are a range of costs associated with filing documents required by the court. These fees may be waived by the court for Centrelink customers.

In addition, the courts generally award costs to the successful party. This means that the legal costs of the successful party must be paid by the unsuccessful party. As Centrelink must engage lawyers to represent itself or its policy departments, these costs can be substantial and may have to be met by a customer who unsuccessfully appeals a decision.

All Court appeals are handled by the Litigation Branch.

Appeal records can be made up of electronic records and a paper file(s), including on and off file (batch) documents and, in some cases, magnetic media.

A Court file should hold all documents created or obtained for the appeal, including working notes, correspondence from solicitors/barristers and requests for, and clearance of instructions.

Copies of documents directly related to the customer's entitlement or the decision under appeal should be uploaded to the customer record. This includes any new evidence obtained during the review and appeal process.