Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS TRIBUNAL ACT 1975 - SECT 46

Sending of documents to courts

             (1)  When an appeal is instituted in the Federal Court of Australia in accordance with section 44 or a question of law is referred to that Court in accordance with section 45:

                     (a)  the Tribunal shall, despite subsections 36(2), 36B(2) and 39B(3), cause to be sent to the Court all documents that were before the Tribunal in connexion with the proceeding to which the appeal or reference relates; and

                     (b)  except in the case of an appeal that is transferred to the Federal Magistrates Court--at the conclusion of the proceeding before the Federal Court of Australia in relation to the appeal or reference, the Court shall cause the documents to be returned to the Tribunal; and

                     (c)  in the case of an appeal that is transferred to the Federal Magistrates Court:

                              (i)  the Federal Court of Australia must cause the documents to be sent to the Federal Magistrates Court; and

                             (ii)  at the conclusion of the proceedings before the Federal Magistrates Court in relation to the appeal, the Federal Magistrates Court must cause the documents to be returned to the Tribunal.

Disclosure of documents by courts

             (2)  If there is in force in respect of any of the documents a certificate in accordance with subsection 28(2), 36(1), 36B(1) or 39B(2) certifying that the disclosure of matter contained in the document would be contrary to the public interest, the Federal Court of Australia or the Federal Magistrates Court shall, subject to subsection (3), do all things necessary to ensure that the matter is not disclosed to any person other than a member of the court as constituted for the purposes of the proceeding. However, this subsection does not prevent the Federal Court of Australia from causing the document to be sent to the Federal Magistrates Court as mentioned in subparagraph (1)(c)(i).

             (3)  If:

                     (a)  the certificate referred to in subsection (2) relating to matter contained in the document does not specify a reason referred to in paragraph 28(2)(a) or (b), 36(1)(a) or (b), 36B(1)(a), or 39B(2)(a), as the case may be;

                     (b)  a question for decision by the Federal Court of Australia or the Federal Magistrates Court is whether the matter should be disclosed to some or all of the parties to the proceeding before the Tribunal in respect of which the appeal was instituted or the reference was made; and

                     (c)  the court decides that the matter should be so disclosed;

the court shall permit the part of the document in which the matter is contained to be inspected accordingly.

             (4)  Nothing in this section prevents the disclosure of information or of matter contained in a document to an officer of the court in the course of the performance of his or her duties as an officer of the court.