South Australian Consolidated Acts South Australian Consolidated Acts52—Powers and procedures of the Tribunal
(1) The Tribunal may,
for the purposes of proceedings before the Tribunal—
(a) by
summons signed on behalf of the Tribunal by a member of the Tribunal or the
Registrar, require the attendance of a person before the Tribunal or at a
conference; or
(b) by
summons signed on behalf of the Tribunal by a member of the Tribunal or the
Registrar, require the production before the Tribunal of any relevant books,
papers or documents; or
(c)
inspect any books, papers or documents produced before it and retain them for
such reasonable period as it thinks fit and makes copies of any of them or any
of their contents; or
(d)
require any person to make an oath or affirmation to answer truly all
questions put by a member of the Tribunal, or a person appearing before the
Tribunal, relating to a matter before the Tribunal; or
(e)
require any person appearing before the Tribunal to answer any relevant
questions put by a member of the Tribunal or by a person appearing before
the Tribunal.
(2) Subject to
subsection (3), a person who—
(a) has
been served with a summons to appear before the Tribunal or at a conference
and fails, without reasonable excuse, to attend in obedience to the summons;
or
(b) has
been served with a summons to produce books, papers or documents and fails,
without reasonable excuse, to comply with the summons; or
(c)
misbehaves before the Tribunal, wilfully insults the Tribunal or any member of
the Tribunal, or interrupts the proceedings of the Tribunal; or
(d)
refuses to be sworn or to affirm, or to answer any relevant question when
required to do so by the Tribunal,
is guilty of an offence.
Maximum penalty: $10 000.
(3) A person who
appears as a witness before the Tribunal has the same protection as a witness
in proceedings before a District Court.
(4) The Tribunal
cannot allow non-party intervention in proceedings before the Tribunal.
(5) The Registrar must
give the parties to proceedings reasonable notice of the time and place of the
proceedings.
(6) A party is
entitled to appear before the Tribunal personally or by counsel or other
representative.
(7) Counsel for the
parties to proceedings are not entitled to attend a compulsory conference.
(8) A party must be
allowed a reasonable opportunity to call or give evidence, to examine or
cross-examine witnesses and to make submissions to the Tribunal.
(9) A witness will,
unless the Tribunal otherwise determines, be allowed witness fees in
accordance with a prescribed scale or, if a scale has not been prescribed,
with the scale applicable to civil proceedings in the District Court.
(10) The Tribunal may
make a determination in any proceedings in the absence of a party to the
proceedings if satisfied that the party was given reasonable opportunity to
appear but failed to do so.
(11) The Tribunal may
make orders for costs in accordance with a prescribed scale against—
(a) the
Minister or the Board; or
(b) any
other party to proceedings,
but an order cannot be made under paragraph (b) unless the Tribunal is
satisfied that the party's conduct in relation to the proceedings was
frivolous, vexatious or calculated to cause delay.
(12) At the conclusion
of proceedings, the Tribunal must furnish the parties with a written statement
of the reasons for its decision.