Commentary on provisions of Act Section 10: Service complaints appeals
This section amends section 340D of the AFA 2006 as part of wider reforms to increase efficiency and speed up the process within the statutory service complaints system. Section 340D deals with appeals to the Defence Council where a first instance decision was taken by a person or panel of persons appointed by the Defence Council. The amendments reduce the minimum time which can be set out in regulations for complainants to lodge appeals and permits the possibility of restricting the grounds upon which an appeal can be brought.
	Subsection (3) enables regulations on service complaints procedure to restrict the grounds on which an appeal against a first instance decision of the Decision Body can be brought and require the Defence Council to decide any question relating to whether an appeal has been brought on valid grounds. This does not affect access to the Service Complaints Ombudsman, as a case with no right of appeal will be considered finally determined under section 340H(5) of the AFA 2006. This is expected to reduce the number of speculative appeals where currently complainants do not have to provide substantive reasons for asking for their case to be re-examined.
	Subsection (4) changes the minimum period for an appeal that can be set out in regulations on service complaints procedure from six weeks to two weeks, commencing on the day the complainant receives notification of the decision which they wish to appeal. Subsection (8) similarly reduces the minimum time which can be set out in regulations for an application to the Service Complaints Ombudsman in respect of a complaint that has been finally determined. It is expected that the regulations will continue to set out exceptions to this time limit, such as that a person may bring an appeal outside this time limit where the Defence Council (or, upon review, the Service Complaints Ombudsman) considers that it is just and equitable to allow it, for example, where the requirements of the service person’s service has reasonably prevented them from meeting the two-week deadline.
	Subsection (5) provides that regulations must make provision to enable a complainant to apply to the Service Complaints Ombudsman for a review of a decision by the Defence Council that an appeal was not brought on a valid ground.
	Subsections (6) to (9) amend the date from which the period to apply to the Service Complaints Ombudsman for an investigation will run. Where a complainant has received a decision that their appeal is inadmissible on the basis that it does not meet the prescribed grounds of appeal, the time-limit to apply to the Service Complaints Ombudsman for an investigation will now run from the "relevant date". The "relevant date" is the latest admissibility decision on the appeal. This will be either the decision of the Defence Council that the appeal is inadmissible, or the decision of the Service Complaints Ombudsman where the complainant has sought a review of the Defence Council’s decision.