South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (15:05): My question is to the Attorney-General. Will the minister please inform the council about the recent event celebrating the ninth anniversary of the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal and the launch of the annotated SACAT legislation?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector) (15:05): I would be most delighted to answer the honourable member's well thought out question. Recently, I had the distinct pleasure of attending the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to join in the celebrations of two milestones: the tribunal's ninth birthday since its operation and the launch of LexisNexis annotated SACAT legislation 2023.

During the event many people who have been heavily involved in SACAT were present, including: Justice Judy Hughes, current President of SACAT; Deane Jarvis, author of the annotated SACAT book and former Deputy President of the AAT; Auxiliary Justice Greg Parker, former President of SACAT; Justice Steven Dolphin, President of SAET; as well as representatives from the Law Society and the Public Advocate. SACAT first opened its doors on 30 March 2015, when the South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal legislation came into operation at the end of 2013.

In 2014, the founding president, Justice Greg Parker, and the founding principal registrar, Clare Bird, worked with the team from the Attorney-General's Department to create what we now know as SACAT. In 2017, the Hon. Justice Judy Hughes was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court and President of SACAT and continues to lead the jurisdiction as a well-established part of the South Australian justice system.

Having issued something near 270,000 orders in the past nine years, the tribunal plays a significant role in the lives of many South Australians, including protecting some of the most vulnerable members of our community. There are a remarkable number of matters that SACAT deals with. In nine years, to give the hours of operation, 270,000 orders is one order just under every four minutes that SACAT issues.

SACAT is involved in decision-making in relation to in excess of 100 pieces of legislation affecting many aspects of South Australians' everyday lives, such as renting a home, engaging a tradesperson, obtaining a guardianship order, seeking compensation for discrimination, the registration of a change of a child's name, and much more.

As well as celebrating its ninth year of operation, the event also recognised another significant milestone for SACAT. In November 2023, LexisNexis published the annotated South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal legislation—a comprehensive single volume collection of key South Australian Civil and Administrative Tribunal pieces of legislation annotated by Deane Jarvis, a former Deputy President of the AAT.

The book provides SACAT users with annotated key pieces of legislation, with reference to the relevant authorities published by the tribunal and from similar tribunals interstate and at the commonwealth level. As SACAT's jurisprudence develops, I am sure that practitioners, members and the general community will find the annotated act a helpful source of information about how the various provisions in different parts of legislation have been interpreted across their diverse applications.

I thank Deane Jarvis and LexisNexis for providing this text so that SACAT users are better placed to navigate the tribunal's laws and rules, and ultimately ensuring that the justice system is more accessible. I take this opportunity to thank all members and staff of SACAT for the admirable work they undertake in assisting South Australians through the justice system and putting on an event to commemorate these two important milestones.