Judicial review and bureaucratic impact : improvement notices under the Electrical Safety Act

It is acknowledged that in any study of judicial review and bureaucratic impact there is a need to set the context of any assessment of judicial review so as to enable formation of a view upon impact. The primary focus of this article therefore is to examine the review of notice decision of the Industrial Court of Queensland in Bailey v Dali [2005] QIC 20 and make suggestions as to the decision’s bureaucratic impact. The decision represents the first judicial interpretation of the provisions of the Electrical Safety Act (QLD) and the Electrical Safety Regulation 2002 (QLD) as they relate to the writing of Improvement Notices. The decision also explains the process the court will adopt when asked to preview administrative notices.