At The Hearing
The tribunal was required to have between three and five members present when hearing a case. At least one of the members had to be a barrister or a solicitor. As far as possible, at least one of the members had to have some expertise in the area of the case before the tribunal. The presiding member on the case was the President, or if the President was not present, the Deputy President, or a member nominated by the President.
The tribunal could make rules about the procedure to be followed in the tribunal. Additionally, the tribunal could determine any additional points of tribunal as necessary. When the tribunal was first established, the intention was to make it accessible to the general public who might be intimidated by the normal legal processes of a court. The tribunal as a result strived to be informal in its procedures. However, there was still some legalistic aspects of its procedures, and parties would engage lawyers and expert witnesses to appear in the tribunal.
Decisions of the tribunal were to be determined by a majority of the votes of the members. However, any point of law was to be determined by the member who was either a barrister or a solicitor. Where the votes were tied, the presiding member had the casting vote.
Selected decisions are available on the internet at Austlii.
Read more about this topic: Community Services Appeals Tribunal
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—William Howard Taft (1857–1930)