McCullagh v Local Government Code of Conduct Panel

[2026] TASCAT 50

Tasmanian Civil and Administrative Tribunal

Built by Barristers,
For Australian Law.

A code of conduct complaint under Part 3, Division 3A of the Local Government Act 1993 is 'finalised' upon the Code of Conduct Panel's determination under s 28ZI, not upon completion of any subsequent review or expiry of the review period — the review application is a separate proceeding concerning a 'reviewable decision'.
Section 349C of the LGA (inserted by the 2023 Amendment Act) is a transitional provision relating to the processing of complaints, not to the review pathway for Panel determinations; it does not prevent the transfer of pending review applications from the MCAAD to TASCAT under the 2025 transfer legislation.
Under s 161(3) of the TASCAT Act, proceedings are excluded from transfer only where the MCAAD had allocated a hearing date; where no hearing date had been allocated, the transfer to TASCAT proceeds without impediment. The question whether s 28ZP review is limited to natural justice or extends to full merits review was left open.