South Australian Chapter
- Membership Application Form for the COAT South Australian Chapter [ Word version ] and Membership Invoice [ Word version ]
Annual membership fee - $30, due annually in July. - Constitution of the COAT South Australian Chapter, including its objects and rules [ Word version ]
- Extract from Convenor's report on activities of COAT SA in 2008 - see below
Dates for 2010
- Friday 6 August 2010 - Decision-writing seminar
Presenter, Senior Member Narelle Bell of the Commonwealth Administrative Appeals Tribunal
Half day course commencing at 1.00 pm
Open to COAT Members
Registration fee - $110 (early bird fee $90) - Thursday 13 May 2010 - Deputy Chief Magistrate Dr Andrew Cannon speaking on, Tribunals – some fresh ideas
South Australian Committee
| Convenor | Ms Lin Gillfillan Deputy President, Guardianship Board |
| Deputy Convenor | Ms Deborah Morgan Presiding Member, Migration and Refugee Review Tribunals |
| Treasurer | Ms Jane Welch Deputy Presiding Member, Residential Tenancies Tribunal |
| Secretary | Ms Sue Raymond Senior Member, Social Security Appeals Tribunal |
| Committee | Mr Deane Jarvis Deputy President, Administrative Appeals Tribunal Ms Karen O'Keefe Member, Pharmacy Board of Australia; Member, Housing Appeal Panel (SA) Ms Jenny Russell Conciliation and Arbitration Officer, Workers Compensation Tribunal |
South Australian Chapter
- Telephone the Secretary, Sue Raymond on (08) 8400 4901.
Presentations
- Using human rights to inform administrative decision-making, The Hon Catherine Branson QC, 25 August 2009 [ RTF version ]
- Rules of evidence, The Hon Justice Christopher Kourakis, 28 May 2009 [ RTF version ]
Chapter Launch
(Mr Deane Jarvis, Deputy President AAT, Hon. Justice Garry Downes AM, President AAT and National Chairman of COAT, Mrs Pat Patrick, Presiding Member Residential Tenancies Tribunal, Mr Robert Park, Guardianship Board and member of COAT Steering Committee and Mr Peter Martin, Chiropractors Board of SA.)
On Tuesday 24 August 2004 40 people representing 17 different Commonwealth and State Tribunals attended a meeting addressed by the Hon. Justice Garry Downes AM, President Administrative Appeals Tribunal and current National Chairman of COAT. Justice Downes spoke about the COAT objectives and the current work being done by COAT to develop a model practice manual for use in the induction and continuing professional development of all Tribunal Members. The speech is available for download.
The meeting then resolved to establish an SA Chapter of COAT. At this stage a Convener of the Chapter has not been appointed but 8 of those present at the meeting have volunteered to join a steering committee.
Membership of the Chapter is open to any Member of a Tribunal that is a Member of COAT, practitioners, academics, students and other persons interested in the work of COAT. The steering committee shall keep all of those who attended the meeting on 24 August 2004 and those who sent an apology informed of future meetings of COAT.
Extract from Convenor's report of activities of COAT SA in 2008
- On 21 February 2008, the Hon. Justice Bruce Lander of the Federal Court gave a presentation on the subject "Evaluating Expert Evidence". The paper is available for download.
- On 29 May 2008, the Commonwealth Ombudsman, Professor John McMillan, and the Acting State Ombudsman, Mr Ken MacPherson, gave a joint presentation on "How Ombudsmen and Tribunals work alongside each other".
- On 23 September 2008, the Hon. John Doyle, AC, Chief Justice of South Australia, gave a presentation involving a group discussion of various hypothetical situations which commonly arise in tribunal hearings.
- The 2008 Annual General Meeting of COAT SA took place at the Residential Tenancies Tribunal on 25 November 2008. The AGM was followed by a presentation by Clare Byrt, "Should South Australia establish a 'super tribunal', as other States have done?" Clare's presentation was followed by a commentary provided by Richard Mellows, Vice President of the Law Society of South Australia.
Professional Development and Training
The Committee assembled detailed statistical information as to the principal State and Commonwealth Tribunals and Boards that sit in this State. They deal with more than 30,000 matters per annum, and there are more than 220 members of tribunals and boards.
Late in June the Committee also canvassed the views of tribunals in South Australia as to their interest in COAT SA providing some form of generic professional development and induction training for members of tribunals. A meeting was held with a number of registrars and presiding members of the different State and Commonwealth tribunals that sit in South Australia in order to assess interest in an induction training course.
The results of the survey show support for the provision of induction training. Of the various alternatives, the following three were favoured: (1) role of tribunal members, (2) decision-writing, and (3) conduct of hearings, in that order. The majority of responses favour induction training of one full day's training on a week day, with the preferred location in the city at a location external to the board or tribunal. The Committee will investigate this further in 2009.
Membership
During the year ended 30 June the Chapter developed some new initiatives to inform persons interested in the work of tribunals and boards about the activities of COAT in this State. As a resulting there has been a substantial increase in membership since 1 July 2008.