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3.8.10.2 Assistant Hearing Officers

Date Published

Assistant hearing officers may be appointed to assist a hearing officer in the preparation for a hearing and the preparation of the statement of reasons in the written decision. However, the decision remains the sole responsibility of the hearing officer and any assistance provided is at the direction of the hearing officer.

Duties of an assistant hearing officer may include:

  • preparing a summary of the key issues, authorities and evidence (without conclusions) prior to the hearing;
  • preparing an initial draft of the statement of reasons under the direction of the hearing officer; and
  • drafting an abstract of the decision and any consequential manual changes that may be necessary.

Assistant hearing officers are selected on merit with particular regard to their potential for development as hearing officers and are generally examiners or senior examiners.

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