Does Section 45 of the Administrative AppealsTribunal Act 1975 (Cth) breach Chapter III of the Australian Constitution?

Abstract

This article examines whether s 45 of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth) breaches Ch III of the Constitution. In response to any suggestion that it does, this article argues that the role of the Federal Court under s 45 is analogous to its role in conducting judicial reviews of and 'appeals' from, AAT decisions. The article then turns to examine whether this analogy holds when the referring body is not quasi-judicial in nature, but rather closely linked to the political functions of government.