ADT: Community Services Division - Adminstrative Decisions Tribunal : Lawlink NSW

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ADT: Community Services Division Most applications lodged with the ADT to review a decision made by the Department of Community Services, or Ageing and Disability will be dealt with in the Community Services Division. This Division also hears applications for a declaration under the Commission for Children and Young People Act 1998. What sort of matters are dealt with by the Community Services Division? How do I know if a decision can be reviewed by the ADT? Is there anything I have to do before I ask the ADT to review a decision? How do I get my decision reviewed by the ADT? What information do I need to provide on the application form? When should I lodge my application? Is there a fee? What happens after I fill in the application form and send it to the ADT? What do I need to do when corresponding with the Tribunal? Who can represent me before the Tribunal? Who will hear my case? What happens if I can't attend the hearing? What kind of decision can the ADT make? What happens to the government agency's decision while I am waiting for a review by the ADT? Can I ask for the government agency’s decision to be suspended while I am waiting for a review by the ADT? What can I do if I don't agree with the ADT's decision? I want to apply for a Prohibited Employment Declaration. How do I do that? How do I get more information? What sort of matters are dealt with by the Community Services Division? The main function of the Community Services Division is to review certain decisions made by the NSW Government agencies in the Community Services sector. The Administrative Decisions Tribunal (ADT) reviews decisions by standing in the place of the government agency that made the original decision and making a fresh determination. It will decide what is the correct and preferable decision having regard to the material before it. How do I know if a decision can be reviewed by the ADT? Applications can be made to review decisions made under a number of Acts of NSW Parliament concerning community welfare. These include: Adoption Act 2000 Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Act 1998 Children and Young Persons (Care and Protection) Regulation 2000 Community Services (Complaints, Reviews and Monitoring) Act 1993 Community Services (Complaints, Reviews and Monitoring) Regulation 2004 Disability Services Act 1993 Youth and Community Services Act 1973 Children’s Services Regulation 2004 The type of decision that can be reviewed by the Community Services Division of the ADT include decisions: granting to or removing from an 'authorised carer' the responsibility for the day-to-day care and control of a child or young person authorising or not authorising a person to be an 'authorised carer', imposing conditions on an authorisation or cancelling or suspending a person’s authorisation providing financial assistance where the provision of assistance does not conform with the objects and principles of the Disability Services Act accrediting or refusing to accredit an adoption service provider or imposing conditions on their accreditation failing to provide information or assistance under the Adoption Act refusing to terminate the Minister's guardianship of a ward terminating a person's custody of a child who is a ward directing a licensee of a family day care children’s service to remove the name of a family day carer from the register for the service suspending a family day care carer’s name from the register for the service The above list is a summary only of the class of decisions the ADT can review. Not all decisions in the community services area can be reviewed by the ADT. The government agency or body that made the decision (such as a licensee of a family day care service or an agency responsible for supervising foster children) will tell you if your decision can be reviewed. If you are unsure whether the ADT can review it contact the agency that made the decision. Is there anything I have to do before I ask the ADT to review a decision? The first step is to ask the government agency concerned to review its decision. This is called an internal review. Requests for an internal review must be in writing and must be made within 28 days of being told of the government agency’s decision. In some cases the ADT can review a decision without an internal review being undertaken. This occurs when: a decision is exempt from an internal review. You can ask the government agency or the ADT if your decision is exempt an urgent review of the decision is needed to protect your interests If you do not agree with the internal review decision or you haven’t received a response from the government agency after 21 days, the next step is to make an application to the ADT to review the decision. How do I get my decision reviewed by the ADT? Fill out an Application for Reveiw (Community Services Division). Click here for the forms page. You cannot lodge the application through the Internet. Please post or bring your application to the ADT Registry. What information do I need to provide on the application form? your name, address and telephone number the name of the government agency that made the decision you want reviewed the date the decision and the internal review decision were made a copy of the decision and the internal review decision (this is normally the letter sent to you by the government agency) a brief outline of why you think the decision is wrong When should I lodge my application? You need to lodge your application to the ADT within 28 days from when you are, or should have been, notified of the internal review decision. If you want to lodge your application but the time allowed has expired, you have to write to the ADT and ask for an extension of time. You will need to give a reason why you were not able to lodge the application within the time allowed. It will be up to the ADT to decide if the late application will be allowed. Is there a fee? Only for applications for declarations for prohibited persons. Select the fees link. What happens after I fill in the application form and send it to the ADT? You will receive a letter from the ADT telling you that your application has been received. There will also be some information about what happens next. The government agency that made the decision will be asked to give you and the ADT a statement outlining the reasons for their decision and copies of supporting documents used to make the decision. You should also be given a date to attend the ADT. This is called a ‘directions hearing’ or a ‘case conference'. A member of the ADT will talk to you and a representative from the government agency about the best way to deal with your application. What do I need to do when corresponding with the Tribunal? All correspondence in relation to current proceedings should be addressed to the Registrar of the Tribunal. Correspondence of this kind should not be addressed to a Member of the Tribunal. A copy of all correspondence must be sent to each other party to the proceedings. The author should record the fact that the correspondence has been sent to the other parties by writing cc: Name of party at the end of the letter. If it has not been copied to the other party, the author must explain in writing why this has not been done. The Registrar will decide how the correspondence is to be handled. Who can represent me before the ADT? You can appear for yourself or you can have a legal practitioner or agent representing you. You have to ask the Tribunal's permission to be represented by an agent. Both you and the agent need to sign the Notice of Representation which is available on the forms page. If you have a legal practitioner representing you they will complete the Notice of Representation for you. The Notice must be filed in the registry and sent to the other party(ies) to the proceedings. An agent must ask for the Tribunal’s permission the first time the matter is listed after the Notice is filed.You can appear either in person or you can get a legal practitioner or agent to represent you. Who will hear my case? In most cases your matter will be heard by a panel of three members made of a A Judicial (or legal) Member together with two community Members. Some matters are heard by a Judicial Member who sits alone. In some cases the Tribunal will be able to give its decision at the end of the hearing. However in most cases the Tribunal will require time to consider the matter and will give its decision at a later date. You will be informed when the decision has been made. What happens if I can’t attend the hearing? If you live outside the Sydney metropolitan area, the directions hearing or conference can be conducted by telephone. In some cases, the ADT may hold the hearing in a regional area of NSW. If you have a disability that makes it difficult for you to attend, the directions hearing can be conducted by telephone. In some cases, the hearing may also be conducted by telephone. What kind of decision can the ADT make? When determining an application to review a decision of a government agency the ADT can: affirm the decision revoke all or part of the decision substitute a new decision for the original decision require the decision maker to reconsider the decision If the Tribunal thinks it is appropriate to do so, the Tribunal may make orders about the payment of costs. What happens to the government agency’s decision while I am waiting for a review by the ADT? Making an application to the ADT does not stop the government agency’s decision from taking effect nor does it prevent the government agency from implementing its decision. Can I ask for the government agency’s decision to be suspended while I am waiting for a review by the ADT? Yes. This is called a ‘stay’. You can fill out the Application for Urgent Stay form. Select this link for the forms page.You cannot lodge the application over the internet. Please post or bring the application to the ADT Registry. You will be required to give a reason for asking for the government agency’s decision to be suspended. The ADT will also seek the views of the government agency before deciding whether to grant a suspension of the decision. What can I do if I don’t agree with the ADT’s decision? You may have the right of appeal to the Appeal Panel of the ADT or the Supreme Court if you do not agree with the ADT’s decision. Click here to check your Appeal Rights. I want to apply for a Prohibited Employment Declaration. How do I do that? The Community Services Division also deals with applications for a declaration that the Prohibition on employment under the Commission for Children and Young People Act 1998 does not apply to a prohibited person. The Act prevents people who pose a risk to the safety of children from working in child related employment. Applications can be made to the Tribunal to issue an order declaring that the Act does not apply if the person seeking the order does not pose a risk to the safety of children. These applications do not involve a review of a decision. There is a fee for this application, click here to see the current fee page. You will need to complete the Application for Declaration - Prohibited Person form. Click here for the forms page. How do I get more information? You can select any of the following links to find out more about the legislation or the procedures before the Community Services Divison of the Tribunal. FAQ Practice and Procedure Decisions Back to top

Last updated: 21 October 2011