In de novo review proceedings before the WA State Administrative Tribunal under s 27 of the SAT Act, neither the applicant nor the respondent bears any legal or practical onus of proof; the Tribunal must form its own view as to the correct and preferable decision by reference to the statutory criteria. The Minister has power under cl 15(2) of sch 1 to the Rights in Water and Irrigation Act 1914 (WA) to reduce the annual water entitlement when renewing a water licence, as the specification of a water entitlement is a 'term, condition or restriction' of the licence. A tribunal's misstatement as to onus will be material where there is a reasonable possibility it influenced the result, particularly where the evaluative nature of the decision means no single correct conclusion was inevitable.
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