Maintaining the hallmarks...the Social Security Appeals tribunal comes of age.

This paper examines the practices of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal ('SSAT') as the first tier external review mechanism in respect of primary decision-making by the Department of Social Security. In particular the characteristics of the SSAT which set it apart as essentially inquisitorial and non-adversarial, and the appropriateness of the use of features more usually associated with the formal court process, will be considered. The paper concludes with a discussion of the legislative objectives of the SSAT and the extent of their achievement to date, and suggest that the features which set the SSAT apart from its more formal judicial counterparts need to be maintained as the SSAT becomes more institutionalized within administrative review processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]