Duncan James Colquhoun Kerr, SC is a barrister. He is a former justice of the Federal Court of Australia. He also served as President of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal from 2012 to 2017.
The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the Federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the prime minister and other cabinet ministers that currently have the support of a majority of the members of the House of Representatives and also includes the departments and other executive bodies that ministers oversee. The current executive government consists of Anthony Albanese and other ministers of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), in office since the 2022 federal election.
R v Kirby; Ex parte Boilermakers' Society of Australia, known as the Boilermakers' Case, was a 1956 decision of the High Court of Australia which considered the powers of the Commonwealth Court of Conciliation and Arbitration to punish the Boilermakers' Society of Australia, a union which had disobeyed the orders of that court in relation to an industrial dispute between boilermakers and their employer body, the Metal Trades Employers' Association.
The judiciary of Australia comprises judges who sit in federal courts and courts of the States and Territories of Australia. The High Court of Australia sits at the apex of the Australian court hierarchy as the ultimate court of appeal on matters of both federal and State law.
The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory is the highest court of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters and hears the most serious criminal matters.
The separation of powers in Australia is the division of the institutions of the Australian government into legislative, executive and judicial branches. This concept is where legislature makes the laws, the executive put the laws into operation, and the judiciary interprets the laws; all independently of each other. The term, and its occurrence in Australia, is due to the text and structure of the Australian Constitution, which derives its influences from democratic concepts embedded in the Westminster system, the doctrine of "responsible government" and the United States version of the separation of powers. However, due to the conventions of the Westminster system, a strict separation of powers is not always evident in the Australian political system, with little separation between the executive and the legislature, with the executive required to be drawn from, and maintain the confidence of, the legislature; a fusion.
Australian administrative law defines the extent of the powers and responsibilities held by administrative agencies of Australian governments. It is basically a common law system, with an increasing statutory overlay that has shifted its focus toward codified judicial review and to tribunals with extensive jurisdiction.
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was an Australian tribunal that conducted independent merits review of administrative decisions made under Commonwealth laws of the Australian Government. The AAT reviewed decisions made by Australian Government ministers, departments and agencies, and in limited circumstances, decisions made by state government and non-government bodies. They also reviewed decisions made under Norfolk Island laws. It is not a court and not part of the Australian court hierarchy; however, its decisions were subject to review by the Federal Court of Australia and the Federal Circuit Court of Australia. The AAT was established by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 and started operation in 1976.
Mark Alfred Dreyfus is an Australian politician and lawyer who has been attorney-general of Australia and cabinet secretary since June 2022, having held both roles previously in 2013 and from 2010 to 2013 respectively. Dreyfus is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), and has been the MP for Isaacs since the 2007 election.
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, and highcourt of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of a supreme court are binding on all other courts in a nation and are not subject to further review by any other court. Supreme courts typically function primarily as appellate courts, hearing appeals from decisions of lower trial courts, or from intermediate-level appellate courts. A supreme court can also, in certain circumstances, act as a court of original jurisdiction.
The National Native Title Tribunal (NNTT) is an independent body established under the Native Title Act 1993 in Australia as a special measure for the advancement and protection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It manages applications for and administration of native title in Australia.
In the United Kingdom, a tribunal is a specialist court with jurisdiction over a certain area of civil law. They are generally designed to be more informal and accessible than 'traditional' courts.
Drake v Minister for Immigration & Ethnic Affairs, was a 1979 decision of the Federal Court of Australia dealing with drugs, deportation and judicial roles.
Ombudsmen in Australia are independent agencies who assist when a dispute arises between individuals and industry bodies or government agencies. Government ombudsman services are free to the public, like many other ombudsman and dispute resolution services, and are a means of resolving disputes outside of the court systems. Australia has an ombudsman assigned for each state; as well as an ombudsman for the Commonwealth of Australia. As laws differ between states just one process, or policy, cannot be used across the Commonwealth. All government bodies are within the jurisdiction of the ombudsman.
Susan Coralie Kenny AM is a reserve judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria, a former Judge of the Federal Court of Australia, and before that was a Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria, where she was the first woman to serve on the Court of Appeal.
Administrative Decisions (Judicial Review) Act 1977(Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia, which created the ability to appeal the decision at the Federal Court of Australia for a person or other parties affected by most administrative decisions by an Australian federal department or agency. Review of administrative decisions under the Act is limited to matters of law.
The Commonwealth Industrial Court, known as the Australian Industrial Court from 1973, was a specialist court to deal with industrial matters, principally the enforcement of awards and orders of the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission. Over time it took on more matters and its judges were allocated a wide range of judicial tasks until it was replaced in 1977 by the Federal Court of Australia which had a more general jurisdiction covering matters arising under Australian federal law.
The Federal Court of Bankruptcy was an Australian court that was established in 1930, pursuant to Chapter III of the Constitution. The jurisdiction in bankruptcy was shared with state courts. On 1 February 1977 the bankruptcy jurisdiction was transferred to the newly established Federal Court of Australia. No new cases could commence in the Federal Court of Bankruptcy after 1 February 1977, however the Court was not formally abolished until 1995, after the last judge, Charles Sweeney retired.
Judicial independence is regarded as one of the foundation values of the Australian legal system, such that the High Court held in 2004 that a court capable of exercising federal judicial power must be, and must appear to be, an independent and impartial tribunal. Former Chief Justice Gerard Brennan described judicial independence as existing "to serve and protect not the governors but the governed", albeit one that "rests on the calibre and the character of the judges themselves". Despite general agreement as to its importance and common acceptance of some elements, there is no agreement as to each of the elements of judicial independence.
Alan Robertson is a former judge of the Federal Court of Australia. He served as a deputy president of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, and retired from the Court in May 2020 having reached the mandatory retirement age for federal judicial appointments.
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