On 15 November I attended the TASCAT Consultative Forum which is attended by members of the Tribunal and relevant stakeholders. Their Annual Report was tabled and a copy of that report is available here. Pleasingly the data in that report shows that the ‘backlogs’ previously experienced are being reduced. There are important amendments to the Guardianship stream in the Guardianship and Administration Amendment (Advance Care Directives) Act 2021 that will come into place on 21 November 2022.
TASCAT have also introduced a ‘trauma informed practice’ factsheet which is directed at parties/ witnesses involved in Tribunal proceedings. Witnesses in this jurisdiction may have experienced trauma and their involvement in Tribunal proceedings can potentially trigger traumatisation. This is an excellent resource and I encourage any practitioners practising in this jurisdiction to make this known to your clients. Congratulations to Deputy President Alison Clues for developing this imitative.
That forum also highlighted that the Residential Building (Miscellaneous Consumer Protection Amendments) Bill 2022 is currently before parliament and if it succeeds will mean the effect of a new division within TASCAT, information on the proposed amendments can be found here.
The Executive Director and I met with the Chief Justice today regarding the backlog in the Supreme Court and what strategies the Court is putting in place to consider mental health of both the Judiciary and Court staff, as well as practitioners. We expect the Supreme Court Annual Report to be tabled shortly.
I am looking forward to opening the Litigation Conference on Friday at the Crowne Plaza which is a sold out event. I’m sure it will be a fantastic event as it is every year and thank you to those members of the Litigation Committee and Amal Cutler who have put it together.
Amanda Thompson
PRESIDENT