2. Report on performance
Professional Services Review Tribunal
Practitioners, about whom the Determining Officer has made a final determination, may ask the Minister for Health and Ageing to refer the determination to a Tribunal for review. A Tribunal comprises a President, who is a former judicial office holder, and two members of the same profession as the person under review. Proceedings before a Tribunal are conducted with as little formality and legal technicality as a proper consideration of the matter permits. Unlike proceedings before committees, the person under review may be legally represented.
PSR Tribunals are not empowered to review decisions of the Determining Authority, which takes over the role of the Determining Officer for cases referred after 1 August 1999.
There was one request to the Minister for review of a final determination during the year. The Tribunal conducted two hearings in this matter and handed down decisions in three cases. In one case (Grey) the Tribunal affirmed the final determination, and affirmed the committee findings in the other two (Sevdalis and Tisdall) but made a different determination to that of the Determining Officer. One of these cases (Tisdall) has been appealed to the Full Federal Court. These cases are discussed in full later in this chapter.
The PSR Tribunal has no more cases to consider.
Table 7—Professional Services Review Tribunal cases
| 2004–05 | 2003–04 | |
|---|---|---|
| Requests for Review received | 1 | 4 |
| Hearings held | 2 | 4 |
| Decisions handed down | 3 | 1 |
| Appeal withdrawn | 0 | 1 |