A review in 1997 was prompted by the New South Wales Government's concern to ensure that all of those tribunals were operating both fairly and efficiently, and were providing a system of dispute resolution that was meeting those objectives [Second Reading speech Mr Whelan in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly on 20 October 1998].
In addition, it was hoped it would avoid overlap between jurisdictions and reduce artificial distinctions and confusion for the community where a number of tribunals had concurrent jurisdiction… The volume, speciality and nature of disputes in the residential area were such that the maintenance of a separate Residential Tribunal of New South Wales was justified.
The tribunal's jurisdiction also included a number of stand-alone adjudicative functions, such as the jurisdiction of the Director-General of the Department of Fair Trading and the Motor Vehicle Repair Disputes Committee to deal with disputes between consumers and motor dealers; the jurisdiction conferred on the Director-General of the Department of Fair Trading by the Property, Stock and Business Agents Act 1941 to review commissions and fees rendered by licensees; and consumer claims for compensation rejected by the travel compensation fund trustees which are currently reviewed by a specially convened committee appointed by the Minister.
Factors such as the value of the matters, the complexity or capacity of parties to present their own case were considered when deciding whether representation should be allowed.
According to its Annual Review, In the 2000-2001 financial year, the Fair Trading Tribunal received about 13,500 applications.