The general tone of satisfaction is understandable. The 'ambitious new federal administrative law', whose innovative characteristics are still clearly visible two decades on, has provided the framework for a generation of decision-makers. It has proved a remarkable and lasting achievement. It has transformed the notion of public accountability for decision-making. It is true that public administrators, myself included, have on occasion been frustrated by the system.
Administrative review is, from the bureaucrats' desk, the law of hard knocks.
And the bruises do not come cheap. 2 Administrative review is also a significant part of the legislative constraint which buries public service managers in internal red-tape. Comparison of the public service employment framework with that in best practice private sector organisations quickly reveals the problems. The Public Service Act, introduced in 1922 and amended more than a hundred times since, is riddled with unnecessary restrictions and arcane details. In 1996 permanent public servants are still employed to occupy a particular 'office' rather than doing a job of work.