Appendix 5: Other mandatory information

Advertising and market research

Under section 311A of the Commonwealth Electoral Act 1918, the AAT is required to set out particulars of any payments of $13,201 or more (inclusive of GST) paid to advertising agencies, market research organisations, polling organisations, direct mail organisations and media advertising organisations.

We did not undertake any advertising campaigns in 2017–18. Non-campaign advertising expenditure of $30,252 was paid to dentsu X for advertising employment vacancies.

We paid $54,318 to ORIMA Research Pty Ltd for the conduct of a survey of users of the AAT’s services.

There were no other reportable payments made in 2017–18.

Grants

The AAT did not administer any grants programs in 2017–18.

Disability reporting mechanism

Since 1994, non-corporate Commonwealth entities have reported on their performance as policy adviser, purchaser, employer, regulator and provider under the Commonwealth Disability Strategy. In 2007–08, reporting on the employer role was transferred to the Australian Public Service Commission’s State of the Service reports and the APS Statistical Bulletin. These reports are available at www.apsc.gov.au. From 2010–11, entities have no longer been required to report on these functions.

The Commonwealth Disability Strategy has been overtaken by the National Disability Strategy 2010–2020, which sets out a 10-year national policy framework to improve the lives of people with disability, promote participation and create a more inclusive society. A high-level two-yearly report will track progress against each of the six outcome areas of the strategy and present a picture of how people with disability are faring. The first of these progress reports was published in 2014, and can be found at www.dss.gov.au.

Ecologically sustainable development and environmental performance

The AAT does not develop or administer legislation or policy relating to the environment but takes steps to ensure our operations are environmentally sustainable.

When arranging new leases and fit-outs in 2017–18, we gave consideration to the principles of ecologically sustainable development. The AAT’s Long Term Accommodation Masterplan, adopted in May 2015, states a preference for leases in buildings with NABERS ratings of at least 4.5 and refers to compliance with a range of Australian Government policies, including the Energy Efficiency in Government Operations Policy and the National Waste Policy. We signed one short-term lease for additional space in Perth in 2017–18, which included the required Green Lease Schedule. The building has a NABERS rating of 4.5.

We also limit our impact on the environment in day-to-day operations by implementing simple measures such as ensuring lights and electrical devices are switched off when not required, encouraging double-sided printing, providing facilities to support staff who walk or cycle to work, and recycling office waste.

Table A5.1 Environmental performance reporting, 2017–18
THEME	STEPS TAKEN TO REDUCE EFFECT	MEASURES TO REVIEW AND IMPROVE REDUCING THE EFFECT
Energy efficiency	Install sensor-controlled lighting in any new fit-outs or refurbishments to tenancies. Consider energy ratings of office machines when replacement is necessary.	The AAT is not able to access consolidated data on electricity consumption across all tenancies.
Waste	Participate in office waste recycling schemes.	All registries recycled paper during the reporting year. Some registries also recycled glass, plastics, metals, toner cartridges, organic material and e-waste such as batteries. As the AAT participates in whole-of-building recycling schemes with other tenants, separate data on recycling quantities is not currently available.
Water	Install water saving devices such as dual-flush cisterns and waterless or low-water urinals in any new fit-outs or refurbishments to tenancies.	The AAT is not able to access data on water consumption in each of its tenancies.

Corrections of material errors in previous annual report

In the AAT’s annual reports for 2015–16 and 2016–17, tables setting out data relating to applications in the Taxation and Commercial Division included a note to the effect that the ‘Other’ category included all non-taxation applications managed within the Taxation and Commercial Division whether or not formally allocated to that division: see Annual Report 2015–16 Tables 3.4 (page 26), A4.2.5 (page 135) and A4.4 (page 137) and Annual Report 2016–17 Tables 3.4 (page 25), A4.3.5 (page 127) and A4.5 (page 129). The note was not correct. The figures in the ‘Other’ category related only to non-taxation applications recorded as being allocated to the Taxation and Commercial Division.

In the same annual reports, the data on appeals lodged and finalised in the Freedom of Information, General, National Disability Insurance Scheme, Security, Taxation and Commercial, and Veterans’ Appeals Divisions did not include cases in relation to which an application to extend the time for lodging an appeal was lodged unless the application was granted by the relevant court and a substantive appeal lodged. The AAT has implemented a consistent approach to counting appeals across divisions to include all matters subject to any type of initial application made to a court and has revised the figures for 2015–16 and 2016–17 to reflect this. We have also become aware that the figures relating to appeals finalised in the FOI, General, NDIS, Taxation and Commercial, and Veterans’ Appeals Divisions inadvertently included a number of matters subject to a further appeal which should not have been included as they were not finally determined. The figures have also been revised to reflect this.

The following table sets out the number of appeals lodged and appeals finalised in 2015–16 and 2016–17 relating to decisions made in the FOI, General, NDIS, Security, Taxation and Commercial, and Veterans’ Appeals Divisions and the overall totals for the AAT. This updates data previously published in the Annual Report 2015–16 on pages 28, 35 and 137 and the Annual Report 2016–17 on pages 27, 36, 37 and 129.

Table A5.2 Court appeals lodged and finalised – By division and areas of work for the FOI, General, NDIS, Security, Taxation and Commercial, and Veterans’ Appeals Division and AAT total – 2015–16 and 2016–17
DIVISION/AREA OF WORK	2015–16						2016–17
	LODGED		FINALISED^c				LODGED		FINALISED^c
	Lodged^a	Proportion of total AAT decisions^b	Allowed	Dismissed or Discontinued	Total appeals finalised	Proportion allowed against total appeals finalised	Lodged^a	Proportion of total AAT decisions^b	Allowed	Dismissed or Discontinued	Total appeals finalised	Proportion allowed against total appeals finalised
	No	%	No	No	No	%	No	%	No	No	No	%
Freedom of Information	5	20%	0	3	3	0%	3	17%	1	5	6	17%
General	54	3%	13	41	54	24%	79	4%	19	41	60	32%
Centrelink (2nd review)	20	2%	2	15	17	12%	19	2%	5	17	22	23%
Workers’ compensation^d	15	7%	7	14	21	33%	22	9%	8	13	21	38%
Other	19	3%	4	12	16	25%	38	6%	6	11	17	35%
National Disability Insurance Scheme	0	0%	0	0	0	N/A	2	8%	0	0	0	N/A
Security	0	0%	0	0	0	N/A	0	N/A	0	0	0	N/A
Taxation and Commercial	21	7%	6	12	18	33%	18	6%	6	17	23	26%
Taxation	18	8%	5	12	17	29%	11	5%	4	12	16	25%
Other	3	4%	1	0	1	100%	7	10%	2	5	7	29%
Veterans’ Appeals	7	6%	5	7	12	42%	10	13%	5	4	9	56%
Subtotal	87	4%	24	63	87	28%	112	5%	31	67	98	32%
AAT TOTAL	3,389	19%	750	2,328	3,078	24%	3,779	18%	552	2,191	2,743	20%

^a These figures include some appeals lodged in relation to decisions made in a previous year.

^b This figure represents the number of appeals lodged in the period as a proportion of all AAT decisions that could have been appealed to the courts in that reporting period.

^c Where a decision of a judge of the Federal Circuit Court, a single judge of the Federal Court or the Full Court of the Federal Court has been appealed, only the ultimate result is counted for the purpose of these statistics.

^d These figures include applications for the review of decisions about defence-related claims under the Safety, Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1988 which are formally allocated to the Veterans’ Appeals Division.