108Expert reports

108 Expert reports

[Section 108 Inserted by No. 17 of 2021, s. 18, Applied:05 Nov 2021]

(1)  The Tribunal may, with the approval of the President, appoint an Australian legal practitioner or medical practitioner, or any other person with appropriate expertise, to assist the Tribunal in any proceedings.

(2)  The Tribunal may, with the approval of the President, refer, for investigation and report by an expert in the relevant field, any question arising in any proceedings.

(3)  The Tribunal must seek submissions from the parties to the proceedings before making a referral under this section.

(4)  A person to whom a question is referred under this section becomes an officer of the Tribunal and may exercise the powers of the Tribunal that the Tribunal delegates to the person.

(5)  The Tribunal may adopt, in whole or in part, a report obtained under this section or may reject the report.

(6)  Any action taken under subsection (5) does not prevent the Tribunal from making a further referral to an expert.

(7)  The Tribunal may order a party to proceedings to pay or contribute to the costs of an expert’s investigation and report under this section in relation to the proceedings.