The Guidance and Appeals Panel is a part of the Administrative Review Tribunal and provides a different review pathway for some cases. Its role is to decide cases that will guide the outcome of future cases and to ensure consistency and quality in decisions made by the Tribunal.  

You can contact the Guidance and Appeals Panel Registry by emailing gap@art.gov.au or by calling 1800 228 333.  

Tribunal staff cannot provide legal advice. If your questions are legal in nature you should seek independent legal advice.  

There are 3 different ways to refer a case:  

1. A party to an ongoing case before the Tribunal can request that their matter be transferred to the Guidance and Appeals Panel. An ongoing case is a case already before the Tribunal that has not been decided and closed yet.  
2. A party to a finalised Tribunal case can apply to have their matter reheard by the Guidance and Appeals Panel. A finalised case is a case where the Tribunal has made a final decision and the case is closed.  
3. The President can decide to transfer an ongoing case before the Tribunal to the Guidance and Appeals Panel, without a party making a request to transfer the case.  

Stages

There are usually 3 stages involved in considering whether a matter will be referred to the Guidance and Appeals Panel:  

1. A check to see if your type of case is eligible for referral.  
2. If eligible, parties provide submissions and materials to support why a case should or should not be referred.  
3. The President (or delegate) considers the application and decides whether to refer the case.    

Only some cases are eligible to be considered by the Guidance and Appeals Panel.  

Ongoing Tribunal cases

Most ongoing Tribunal cases are eligible for referral as long as:  

• the case has not been finalised already, and  
• the case is not being heard in the Intelligence and Security jurisdictional area. If you are not sure which jurisdictional area your case has been allocated to, call us on 1800 228 333 to find out, and  
• the decision under review does not relate to a decision made under the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (FOI Act).    

Finalised Tribunal cases

As a party, the letter that comes with your Tribunal decision will tell you about your review rights. If the letter tells you that your Tribunal decision can be reviewed by the Guidance and Appeals Panel, then you may be eligible to apply within 28 days of the Tribunal decision being made.    

Only some finalised Tribunal decisions are eligible to be referred to the Guidance and Appeals Panel. You can find out some of the matters that are not eligible for referral by visiting Referring a case to the Guidance and Appeals Panel and clicking ‘After a Tribunal decision has been made’.  

If you submit a form for referral and your matter is not eligible, then you will receive a letter explaining why your matter is not eligible. If you paid a fee with your form and you are not eligible for a referral, then you can receive a refund of your fees.  

No, being eligible for referral does not automatically mean your case will be referred to the Guidance and Appeals Panel.  

Once your form is received by the Guidance and Appeals Panel Registry, they assess it for eligibility. If it is eligible for referral, then:  

1. The other parties in your case are notified of your application and are asked to provide their views about whether the case should be referred.  
2. After that you will have a final chance to provide a reply to the material provided by the other parties.  
3. The President (or delegate) will consider the materials and decide whether the case should be referred.  
4. We will notify you of the President’s decision.  

The President will consider your submissions and the submissions of the other parties about:  

• whether the case raises an issue of significance to administrative decision-making and/or  
• whether the Tribunal made an error of fact or law that affected the outcome of the case and  
• whether it is in the interests of justice to refer the matter and  
• any circumstances about the parties that should be taken into consideration.  

The President is not obliged to refer any matter to the Guidance and Appeals Panel, even if it is eligible for referral.  

If the President decides to refuse a request to refer an ongoing Tribunal case to the Guidance and Appeals Panel, then the Tribunal case will continue in the usual manner before the broader Tribunal.  

If the President decides to refuse an application for referral of a closed Tribunal case, then the matter remains closed and the Federal Court is the only means for a further review of the matter. If you paid a fee with the Guidance and Appeals Panel application, the fee will not be refunded.  

Some eligible cases are referred to the Guidance and Appeals Panel because they raise an issue of significance to administrative decision-making. This means that the outcome of the case has the potential to affect many people in the future, not just the applicant. If you would like your case to be referred to the Guidance and Appeals Panel for this reason, you need to explain why you think there is something about your matter that is bigger than the review of your individual decision and how it may have an impact on many other people in your position. Types of issues that may be considered significant to administrative decision-making may include:  

• whether the government agency’s practices, procedures or policies follow the law
• the impact of changes to the government agency’s policies or practices
• inconsistent decision making on similar issues
• the way the decision was made may affect a significant number of people
• new legislative provisions
• controversial or complex matters that need guidance.  

Some finalised Tribunal cases are eligible for referral to the Guidance and Appeals Panel because the Tribunal may have made an error of fact or an error of law.  

Error of fact: An error of fact means that the Tribunal made a mistake when interpreting or analysing a fact (or facts) in the case and that mistake ended up influencing the outcome of the case.

Error of law: An error of law is a mistake made by the Tribunal when interpreting or applying the relevant law where the mistake ended up influencing the outcome of the case.  

If you would like your case to be referred to the Guidance and Appeals Panel for this reason, you will need to explain what the mistake was in the decision. You should refer to the paragraph in the decision where you say the mistake was made.  

You also need to be able to explain that the mistake influenced the decision in such a way that, had the mistake not been made, the final outcome of the Tribunal decision would have been different. 

How you lodge an application depends on whether your case is ongoing or finalised. See ‘How can I lodge my form for referral to the Guidance and Appeals Panel?’ below. 

Anyone who is a party to the original or ongoing Tribunal case. This includes the applicant, the respondent or any other party relevant to the original proceeding. In finalised Tribunal cases regarding Child Support decisions, this includes the Child Support Registrar as well as both of the parties in the original Tribunal proceeding.   

Some applications attract a fee. Applicants who meet certain criteria maybe eligible to pay a reduced fee. Find more information about our fees.  

You have 28 days from the date you received the decision from your original Tribunal case.  

If you have special circumstances that prevented you from lodging before the end of the 28 days you may request an extension of time. To do so, you must lodge an Application for extension of time for making an application for review of decision [PDF, <1 MB] form. Please complete all fields in the form, including the reference number from your original Tribunal case.  

Before lodging your form for referral, consider the eligibility criteria for your case type.  

Ongoing Tribunal cases:  

If you want to make a request for an ongoing Tribunal case to be transferred to the Guidance and Appeals Panel then you must fill out the Guidance and Appeals Panel referral request - first instance [PDF, <1 MB] form and email it to gap@art.gov.au.  

Finalised Tribunal cases:  

If you want to apply for a finalised Tribunal case to be heard by the Guidance and Appeals Panel then you can apply online or complete the Guidance and Appeals Panel referral application – second instance [PDF, <1 MB] form and email it to gap@art.gov.au.  

Find more information about forms on the Referring a case to the Guidance and Appeals Panel page.  

Tribunal staff can help with lodging your application. You can contact the Guidance and Appeals Panel Registry by emailing gap@art.gov.au or by calling 1800 228 333.  

Please note: Tribunal staff cannot provide legal advice. If you have legal questions or questions about the specific facts of your case, you should seek independent legal advice.   

• Personal contact information – name, email, phone number and address.  
• Tribunal case number.  
• A short summary of the reasons why you think your matter raises an issue of significance to administrative decision-making or why the Tribunal made an error of law or fact.  
• Any discretionary considerations about you or the other party that you think should be considered when the President is deciding whether to refer your matter to the Guidance and Appeals Panel.  

Discretionary considerations are anything about you, the other party or circumstances of the case that should be considered when the President is deciding whether to refer your matter to the Guidance and Appeals Panel or not. This might include:  

• the impact of the proceedings on you  
• the diverse needs of a party
• whether you have a representative
• your health and safety
• confidentiality concerns
• the financial impact of the proceeding
• previous negotiations between the parties
• whether there is already a relevant appeal to the Federal Court.  

Written submissions

You are encouraged to provide a written submission to support your application. These submissions should clearly and concisely outline the reasons why you think your matter should be referred to the Guidance and Appeals Panel.  

If you say that your matter raises an issue of significance to administrative decision-making, then you should:  

• identify the issue  
• state why it is relevant to administrative decision-making as a whole  
• outline how it will impact other people, other than the parties to the proceeding.  

If you say your matter raises an error of law and/or fact, then you should:  

• identify the paragraphs in the Tribunal decision that contain an error of fact or law
• state what was incorrect about the relevant fact, with reference to information that was before the original Tribunal and/or state what was incorrect about the way that the Tribunal applied the relevant law, with reference to specific legislation and/or cases
• explain how that error influenced the Tribunal to make an incorrect decision.  

Page limits  

There are page limits for written submissions:  

• For a request to refer an ongoing Tribunal proceeding your submission limit is 5 pages in addition to your request form.  
• For an application to refer a finalised Tribunal decision your submission limit is 10 pages in addition to your application form.  

There are circumstances where that limit is increased, such as when there is also an application for a stay or an extension of time. For more details refer to the Guidance and Appeals Panel practice direction [PDF, <1 MB].  

Please note: If your submission is longer than the stated limits, information after the page limit may not be considered by the President.  

• Evidence that was submitted in the original Tribunal proceeding.
• Evidence that is irrelevant to the submissions you are making.  
• Your tax file number (TFN) and other material that should be redacted – refer to the Guidance and Appeals Panel practice direction [PDF, <1 MB] for more details.  

Once a form has been lodged the case will be assessed. The Tribunal will:  

1. Acknowledge your form.
2. Notify the other parties to the case and request a response to your application within 21 days.  
3. Once the response has been provided, you will be invited to provide a reply to the response within 7 days.  
4. Once we receive your reply, the President will consider your application and materials and make a decision on whether to refer the case to the Guidance and Appeals Panel.  

You can request an extension of time to provide your response or reply to a response. Requests for an extension of time must be received in writing to gap@art.gov.au.  

In your request include your reasons for requesting an extension and the date you are requesting the time to provide your submission be extended to. The Guidance and Appeals Panel Registry will seek the views of the other parties regarding your request for an extension of time. Once these views have been received a decision-maker will consider the request and provide an outcome by email.   

All parties to a case have a right to procedural fairness and the opportunity to provide an informed response about a proceeding that impacts them. For this reason all information provided during the application referral process must be shared. If you have circumstances that you think may warrant information not being disclosed to the other parties, contact the Guidance and Appeals Panel Registry on gap@art.gov.au.  

You will be notified in writing of the President’s decision about whether or not your matter will be referred to the Guidance and Appeals Panel. You can expect to receive the outcome of your referral application within 60 days of making your application. In some cases it may take longer than 60 days. You can contact gap@art.gov.au if you are looking for an update on the status of your application.  

The Guidance and Appeals Panel will conduct a ‘merits’ review of the decision in the same way the Tribunal conducts a review.  Learn more about the role of the Tribunal.  

In the case of an appeal of a Tribunal decision, the reasons why the case is referred does not limit the issues covered in the Guidance and Appeals Panel proceeding. The matter is heard anew, which means that your entire case will be reopened, and the Guidance and Appeals Panel will take a fresh look at everything relating to the original and Tribunal decisions.  This includes any part or parts of the decision you agree with and do not want changed.  

The Guidance and Appeals Panel has the power to agree with the original decision, change it, or make a new decision in part or entirely.   

Some matters are ineligible for referral to the Guidance and Appeals Panel. If this is the case, the outcome letter you receive will outline the reasons why.    

It may be that the President (or delegate) decided:  

• that the matter did not raise an issue of significance to administrative decision-making and/or  
• that the matter did not contain an error of law or fact that affected the outcome of the decision or  
• that it was not in the interests of justice to refer the matter or  
• to exercise the discretion not to refer the matter.  

The President is not obliged to refer any matters to the Guidance and Appeals Panel and is not required to provide reasons why a matter was not referred. Your outcome letter will outline your review rights if this happens.   

If your application to the Guidance and Appeals Panel was refused and:

• your case is finalised, you may still have the Tribunal decision reviewed by the Federal Court. Your outcome letter will outline how long you have to lodge an appeal with the Federal Court.  
• your case is ongoing, your matter will proceed in the usual manner before the Tribunal.  

If your matter was ineligible for referral you can request a refund of your Guidance and Appeals Panel application fee.  

No, if you submit an application to the Guidance and Appeals Panel and the application is refused, you are not eligible for a refund of your fee.