Welcome to the Administrative Review Council

The role of the Administrative Review Council ‘is to ensure that our system of administrative review is as effective and significant in its protection of the citizen as it can be’.

RJ Ellicott QC
Attorney-General
15 December 1976 at the first meeting of the Council

The Council is ‘an effective body, providing useful and timely advice on administrative review matters’.

Senate Legal and Constitutional Legislation Committee Report on the Role and Functions of the Administrative Review Council, June 1997.

Working draft report

The ARC has been asked to inquire and report on the most effective and efficient accountability mechanisms for decisions in business areas subject to complex and specific regulation.

While the working draft report focuses specifically on a number of regulatory areas, the Council believes that its findings will be relevant to other business areas subject to complex regulation.

The ARC encourages anyone with an interest in this inquiry to submit comments by Wednesday 6 August 2008.

New Council Report!

On 4 June 2008, the Attorney-General tabled ARC Report No. 48, The Coercive Information‑gathering Powers of Government Agencies.

The report considers the use of these powers having regard to the legislation and practices of six agencies – the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the Australian Taxation Office, Centrelink and Medicare Australia. However, the report is of direct relevance to all agencies in their use of coercive information‑gathering powers.

The report identifies 20 best practice principles covering a range of important practical issues including the appropriate ‘trigger’ threshold for the use of coercive information‑gathering powers, who should exercise the powers, the content of notices, the conduct of examinations and hearings, privilege and the exchange of information within and between agencies.

Copies of the report can be obtained by contacting the Council’s Secretariat at arc.can@ag.gov.au

Launch of Best Practice Guides for administrative decision makers

On Friday, 10 August 2007, the former Attorney-General launched the Administrative Review Council’s (ARC) series of Best Practice Guides for primary decision makers.

The launch saw the release of five Best Practice Guides written in plain and accessible language covering all key stages in the administrative decision-making process.

The subject areas covered by the Guides are:

The Guides are intended to assist primary decision makers and can be tailored to the specific needs of individual departments and agencies. The Council is keen to work collaboratively with departments and agencies in this regard.

The Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC), in partnership with the ARC, has already tailored three of the five Guides to assist decision makers within DIAC to make sound decisions in a pressured and time-critical environment. DIAC expects to release the other two Guides shortly.

If you would like further information on any of the Guides, or if you would like to discuss how they can be supplemented to meet the needs of your department or agency, please contact the Council Secretariat on (02) 6250 5800 or e-mail us at arc.can@ag.gov.au

30th Anniversary Issue of ‘Admin Review’

In recognition of the Administrative Review Council’s 30th anniversary, the ARC published a special edition of ‘Admin Review’, the administrative law bulletin published annually by the ARC. This edition of ‘Admin Review’ contains articles based on presentations made at the Council’s 30th anniversary seminar and other related articles. The theme of the seminar was ‘The Future of Administrative Law and the Challenges that Lie Ahead’. Contributors to this edition include the Hon Sir Anthony Mason, the Hon Philip Ruddock and Dr Peter Shergold, amongst others, and the subject matter ranges from consumer and business issues to judicial and international perspectives.