A Practical Guide to Making Administrative Decisions
OND233V071
Description
Attend and earn 1 CPD hour in Substantive Law
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
*This is an interactive recording, which allows you to claim all your annual CPD points
*Original content created March 2023
Chair: Alison Smith, Principal Decision Maker, Victorian Building Authority
A Practical Guide to Making Administrative Decisions
- Key questions to ask yourself when making administrative decisions:
- Where does the power come from to make that decision?
- Is it the right power for making that decision?
- Are there any preconditions on the use of the power?
- Are there any limitations on the use of the power?
- Do I have the authority to make that decision? This covers both an authorization or a delegation
- Can I delegate the power to make that decision?
- What must I consider when making that decision?
- Who can I consult when making that decision?
- decision makers are often concerned that they can’t consult because they have to make the decision themselves, but this is not the case
- What evidence is that decision based on?
- Interpretation of legislation provisions and the power to make decisions
- Steps to take to ensure decisions are free from allegations of bias and upholding principles of Natural Justice
- Human Rights charter: how it applies to your decision
- How to ensure decisions are transparent and conform to natural justice
- When reasons should be given by the decision maker?
Presented by Vanessa Twigg, Principal Legal Adviser, Victorian Ombudsman
Presenters
Alison Smith
Before joining the VBA’s Practitioner Discipline Unit, Alison was an appointed member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (and formerly the Social Security Appeals Tribunal) for 12 years. Alison joined the VBA in 2019 and acts as a delegate in disciplinary proceedings against building practitioners. Alison has taken a lead role in developing and maintaining the VBA’s regulatory and disciplinary strategy in relation to the non-compliant use of combustible cladding in a cross-divisional team of lawyers, technical experts, and investigators.
Vanessa Twigg
Vanessa is a criminal and administrative lawyer with extensive experience providing legal services in Commonwealth and Victorian Government law enforcement and integrity agencies, including the National Crime Authority, the Royal Commission into the Building and Construction Industry, the Office of Police Integrity and IBAC, as well as her current role as Principal Legal Adviser for the Victorian Ombudsman. In her work she has particularly focused on the responsible exercise of both discretionary coercive investigative powers used to compulsorily acquire oral and written evidence, and electronic surveillance powers. Vanessa has highly developed skills in legal analysis and the application of public interest tests to ensure that case management processes are legally competent and the law enforcement or integrity agencies exercise investigative powers appropriately and proportionately. She is a member of the Law Institute’s Government Lawyers Section and Administrative Review and Constitutional Law Committee. She was also awarded the LIV President’s Award for Outstanding Service in 2022.