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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 1996 Week 6 Hansard (23 May) . . Page.. 1778 ..

7

Finally, Mr Speaker, the Bill re-writes the Small Claims Act to provide a modern product which is easy to understand, with an emphasis on having a simple structure to find the jurisdiction, powers and procedures of the Tribunal, for the benefit of members of the ACT community. Also, the forms which provide the mechanism for instigating and defending disputes have been significantly simplified. This will allow members of the ACT community and the Tribunal staff to fill out the necessary forms in a more efficient and timely manner. To that end, the legislation will allow for ACT community members to have better access to justice within the Territory.

My Department will undertake an evaluation of these reforms, after a reasonable period of operation, to assess whether the reforms are providing improved access to justice to member of the community.

Mr Speaker, I now table the exposure draft Bill in the Assembly for public consultation and I look forward to receiving comments from the community on the proposed new legislation.

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