Ministerial Statement

South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal

The Hon. J.R. RAU (Enfield—Deputy Premier, Attorney-General, Minister for Justice Reform, Minister for Planning, Minister for Industrial Relations, Minister for Child Protection Reform, Minister for the Public Sector, Minister for Consumer and Business Services, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (14:17): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: The South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal was established to streamline and simplify the review of administrative decisions in the state. SACAT was created as a one-stop shop for adjudication of administrative decisions, to improve access to justice, consolidate and streamline registry and administrative functions and to keep costs to a minimum. SACAT opened its doors to the public on 30 March 2015. As a new organisation in a rapid state of change, it has made significant progress in delivering benefits to the public, including the pooling of skills and expertise across numerous jurisdictions.

On SACAT's commencement, the Guardianship Board, Residential Tenancies Tribunal and Housing Appeal Panel were dissolved and replaced by SACAT. Appeals of decisions of the Valuer-General to the Land and Valuation Division of the Supreme Court were also transferred to SACAT, as well as decisions of the Registrar-General under the Real Property Act 1886. Jurisdiction under the Lobbyists Act 2015 was conferred upon SACAT in April of this year. There is currently an extensive legislative program across a number of ministerial portfolios that proposes to confer further jurisdiction on SACAT.

Since commencing operation, SACAT has been faced with challenges associated with the centralisation of separate decision-making bodies into a single tribunal. Challenges include the operational challenges of converting from a paper-based working model to an electronic paperless case management system, and workload issues associated with a more accessible tribunal.

Work is currently being undertaken to improve the business practices of SACAT to ensure that it is operating in a sustainable high-volume manner, and that the future conferral of jurisdiction does not have any adverse impact. For this reason, the government has made the decision to slow the conferral of future jurisdiction on SACAT while current systems and workload issues are resolved.

Ms Chapman interjecting:

The Hon. J.R. RAU: The government remains—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: The deputy leader is called to order.

The Hon. J.R. RAU: The government remains committed to the SACAT model and to the future conferral of jurisdiction. We look forward to recommencing this work in the near future.