Administrative Appeals Tribunal - Structure

Structure

As at 30 June 2009 there were 83 members of the Tribunal, of whom 19 were women. There are 14 Judges, 18 full-time members and 51 part-time members.

A President, who must be a judge of the Federal Court of Australia, is appointed by the Attorney-General to head the Tribunal. The current President is Justice Duncan Kerr. Other judges of the Federal Court and the Family Court may be appointed as 'Presidential Members', with the balance of the Tribunal's membership (Deputy Presidents, Senior Members and Members) being drawn from the legal profession or other professional groups. Members of the Tribunal come from a range of backgrounds and include persons with expertise in accountancy, aviation, engineering, environmental science, law, medicine, pharmacology, military affairs, public administration and taxation. Appointments to the Tribunal may be full or part-time. Members are appointed for terms of up to 7 years.

Members of the Tribunal who are legally qualified and have 5 years standing, where authorised to do so, may exercise powers under a number of other Acts. This includes the power to issue telecommunications interception warrants and stored communications warrants under the Telecommunications(Interception and Access) Act 1979, issue warrants and exercise related powers under the Survelliance devices Act 2004 and review certificates that authorise controlled operations under the Crimes Act 1914. Presidential Members and Senior Members who are legally qualified and have 5 years standing, may be appointed as an approved examiners under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 The President and Deputy Presidents may be appointed as issuing authorities in relation to the making of continued preventative detention orders under the Criminal Code.

A Registrar and Assistant Registrar assists the President in the management of the Tribunal, as well as overseeing the organisation's 150-plus staff.