SECOND ANNUAL AIJA TRIBUNALS CONFERENCE

Papers

THIRD ANNUAL AIJA TRIBUNALS CONFERENCE
Friday 9 June 2000
The Chifley on Flemington, 5-17 Flemington Road, North Melbourne

(ISSN 1448-0824)

TRIBUNALS - SERVING THE COMMUNITY

A dominant theme of the third AIJA Annual Tribunals Conference is Tribunals - Serving the Community. Tribunals are designed to bring expertise to the resolution of disputes and to provide an efficient and cost effective means for dispute resolution. There is often a perception in the community that tribunals are unduly legalistic and that there is no great advantage to disputants in proceeding before a tribunal rather than a court. This perception may arise from a failure on the part of tribunals to communicate with their public and to provide the public with an understanding of tribunals and their work.

BACKGROUND

This is the third Annual Tribunals Conference organised by the AIJA to assist in the professional development of tribunal members and staff. The first Tribunals Conference took place in Melbourne in September 1998 and coincided with the Annual Court Administrators' Conference and AIJA Annual Conference. The second Conference took place in Sydney in September 1999.

PROGRAMME
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8.30 am	Registration, Tea and Coffee.
9.00 am	Opening and Welcome by the Hon Justice Murray Kellam, President of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), Deputy President, AIJA.
9.05 am	SESSION ONE Convenor: Justice Murray Kellam KEYNOTE ADDRESS - PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION FOR TRIBUNALS, Professor Kathryn Cronin, Deputy President, Australian Law Reform Commission. In the recently issued Australian Law Reform Commission report on "Managing Justice" the Commission has reported on education and professional development for tribunal members. Discussion.
10.00 am	SESSION TWO Convenor: Mrs Joan Dwyer, Senior Member, Commonwealth Administrative Appeals Tribunal. THE EVOLVING STRUCTURE OF TRIBUNALS IN AUSTRALIA His Hon Judge Terry Worthington, Chief Judge, District Court of South Australia The Hon Justice Deirdre O'Connor, President, Administrative Appeals Tribunal The Hon Justice Murray Kellam, President, VCAT, Deputy President, AIJA
11.00 am	Morning Tea.
11.30 am	SESSION THREE Convenor: Professor Greg Reinhardt, Executive Director, AIJA. *COMMON PROBLEMS ARISING IN TRIBUNAL HEARINGS*
1.00 pm	Lunch.
2.00 pm	SESSION FOUR Convenor: Ms Anne Wallace, Deputy Executive Director, AIJA *COMMUNICATION WITH TRIBUNAL USERS AND INTEREST GROUPS* Ms Jane Fenton, Principal, Fenton Communications Professor Stephen Parker, Dean of Law, Monash University Mr Bruce Phillips, Director, Public Information, Federal Court of Australia
3.30 pm	Afternoon Tea
4.00 pm	SESSION FIVE Convenor: Mr Graham McDonald, Chairperson, Superannuation Complaints Tribunal. *THE ROLE OF THE NON-LEGAL MEMBER IN THE WORK OF TRIBUNALS* Professor Greg Reinhardt, Executive Director, AIJA Mr Tony Liston, Member, VCAT.
5.00 pm	Close

Suppplementary paper by Ms Koh Chin Chin, Small Claims Tribunal, Subordinate Courts of Singapore