User:Skymann102/Drafts/Australian Capital Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal

The ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, commonly known as the ACAT, is a civil and administrative law tribunal for the Australian Capital Territory. It was created by an Act of the ACT Legislative Assembly in 2008, replacing a large number of administrative panels and creating a panel for the hearing of small civil claims.

History
The Tribunal replaced several tribunals, decision-makers and boards, including:
 * The ACT Administrative Appeals Tribunal
 * The Essential Services Consumer Council
 * The Mental Health Tribunal
 * The ACT Discrimination Tribunal
 * The Health Professional Tribunal
 * The Legal Profession Disciplinary Tribunal
 * The ACT Architects Board
 * The Consumer and Trader Tribunal
 * The Credit Tribunal
 * Some functions of the Chief Surveyor, the Construction Occupations Registrar and the Commissioner for Fair Trading
 * The small claims jurisdiction of the Magistrates' Court

Jurisdiction
The Tribunal has jurisdiction to review most ACT Government administrative, planning, and tax decisions under over a hundred Territory laws. The Tribunal also has general civil jurisdiction over matters involving an amount in dispute of $25,000 or less, unless the parties otherwise agree or the plaintiff abandons possible damages above this limit. An appeals panel, consisting of up to three members, can hear appeals from first instance decisions in most cases. In other cases, or where one appeals from the appeals panel, appeals are brought to the Supreme Court.

Unlike a court, it cannot hear most cases brought against the Commonwealth government including claims against the Australian Federal Police (which provides policing in the ACT), though it can hear residential tenancy matters concerning Commonwealth-owned properties in the Jervis Bay Territory. Also unlike most Australian courts, the tribunal usually follows the rule in civil disputes that each party bears their own costs rather than costs following the event.