On a merits review under s 63 or s 115 of the Administrative Decisions Tribunal Act 1997 (NSW), the correct and preferable decision is to be assessed at the time of the review, not at the time of the original administrative decision. Foster carers are entitled to procedural fairness from the Department when allegations of abuse are made, including timely provision of particulars and an opportunity to respond, and affording such fairness may promote rather than conflict with the welfare of the children. Deficiencies in an Appeal Panel's reasoning — including setting itself the wrong temporal question and failing to properly consider evidence — do not necessarily amount to error of law if the ultimate conclusion is supportable on the evidence.
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