Where a statute confers a right of appeal from an administrative decision and empowers the appellate body to 'make any decision that could have been made by' the original decision-maker, the appeal is a hearing de novo requiring the appellate body to decide the matter afresh. The 72-hour time limit for determining the appeal does not alter this construction. A privative clause immunising a decision-maker from 'action or proceedings' in respect of official acts does not preclude judicial review of the validity of decisions made in that capacity. An order dismissing an originating application for certiorari to quash an administrative decision is a final order, not interlocutory.
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