Labor queries AAT pay deal

Four Coalition-appointed members of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal have been accused by Labor of excessively billing taxpayers for their work while holding down other jobs.

Barrister Vanessa Plain.

Four Coalition-appointed members of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal have been accused by Labor of excessively billing taxpayers for their work while holding down other jobs.

But the AAT says that the most efficient members are able to finalise cases more quickly, which can result in a higher overall pay structure.

Former Liberal staffer Tony Barry, barristers Vanessa Plain and Jason Harkess, and Louise Bygrave, a former adviser to Liberal MP Tim Wilson as Human Rights Commissioner, were paid more than full-time members for their part-time roles, despite working outside the AAT, according to analysis by Labor.

Mr Barry was paid about $251,000 in 2019-20 for his part-time AAT role, an amount equivalent to working more than five days a week at his rate of $813 a day, once superannuation was deducted, according to calculations by the federal opposition.

Mr Barry — a former staffer to then-opposition leader Malcolm Turnbull and former Victorian opposition leader Matthew Guy — had two other jobs at the time, working as a senior consultant at a lobbying firm and in his own firm. He has since quit his job at Next Level Strategic Services over concerns of a potential conflict of interest.

Two other AAT members, Ms Plain and Mr Harkess, who provided pro bono legal assistance to the Liberal Party-backed legal challenge to the Victorian government’s COVID measures, were also paid for more than five days’ work a week, based on their daily rates of $949, according to the opposition’s analysis.

Ms Plain was paid about $128,000 by the AAT between July 1 and November 1 last year.

According to Labor, this was equivalent to working every day, and all but six weekend and public holiday days. However, she spent at least nine days in court as a barrister in that time.

Mr Harkess was paid about $292,000 in 2019-20, equivalent to working more than five days a week at his daily rate while also holding down four other jobs, including as a barrister and university lecturer.

Labor senator Murray Watt asked at Senate estimates whether the government could guarantee no Liberal Party appointees to the AAT had “been over-claiming their remuneration”.

Liberal senator Amanda Stoker, representing Attorney-General Michaelia Cash, said that conclusion could not be drawn from the opposition’s analysis.

AAT registrar Sian Leathem said members in the migration and refugee division were paid for each case finalised, and fees were calculated on the hours a case was expected to take.

A day was also calculated based on seven hours of work, which could be completed at any time.

“There are obviously going to be some members who are more or less efficient,” she said.

“What we have determined as say, seven hours of standard time, it’s possible that some members are going to achieve that in less time; conversely some members might struggle to get those matters finalised in seven hours.”