From 1 July 2015 the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal (ADT) will transfer from the jurisdiction of the Magistrates Court and be co-located, as a separate tribunal, with the Worker's Rehabilitation and Compensation Tribunal (WR&CT).
There will be no job losses as a result of this change, no functions of the ADT will be lost, and it is anticipated that the new model will provide a more accessible and less legalistic environment and process than the current Magistrates Court based arrangements.
The ADT will continue to operate as a separate entity, however it is anticipated that the bulk of the tribunal's functions can be performed by the Commissioners, Registrar and staff of the WR&CT.
The transfer is supported by the Chief Magistrate, Michael Hill, the current ADT Chair, Magistrate Glenn Hay, the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner, Robin Banks and Chief Commissioner of the WR&CT, Stephen Carey.
The ADT handles in excess of 40 matters per annum. As part of the transition process existing, active cases will be reviewed to determine which matters will need to be reallocated to the WR&CT and which can be finalised before 1 July.
Parties to matters that will be transferred to the WR&CT will be contacted prior to July 1 to inform them of the new arrangements and how these will apply to their case.
The Government acknowledges the excellent work of the current Chair, Magistrate Glenn Hay, his fellow magistrates, tribunal members and staff at the magistrates court in this important jurisdiction over many years.