It is often claimed that, in addition to arriving at the “correct or preferable” decision in the individual case, a primary objective of an administrative review system is to have a “normative” influence on government decision-making. As the Federal government has made a commitment to the overhaul of the administrative review system, it is timely to question the significant normative achievements which have been claimed over the past two decades of codified administrative review rights in Australia.
The first part of this article outlines the theoretical and practical foundations of the normative goal and the changing influences upon it. It attempts to unpack the concept and consider some of its claims. Is it, for example, realistic in the context of the dynamics of government administration, to continue to claim the “normative effect” as a goal of administrative review? Is the administration responsive to review? Is there evidence of administrative law “values” in the culture and processes of the administration?
