Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board (RADB) Hearings
Victorian Greyhound Racing
Handbook
2014
Contents
1.BACKGROUND
2.FUNCTIONS
3.CONSTITUTION
4.APPEALS
4.1How do I lodge an appeal with the RADB?
4.2Is there a cost to lodge an appeal?
4.3What happens if I don’t lodge my appeal in time?
4.4Can I apply for a stay of proceedings?
4.5What happens once my appeal has been lodged?
4.6What happens at the appeal hearing?
4.7When does the RADB make its decision?
4.8Can I withdraw my appeal?
4.9No right of appeal
4.10Appeal against fines of $250 or less
5.SERIOUS OFFENCE HEARINGS
5.1 What is a serious offence?
5.2I’ve been charged with a Serious Offence, what happens next?
5.3Directions Hearing
5.4What happens at the hearing?
6.VCAT
6.1How do I apply to VCAT for a review of a RADB decision?
7.GENERAL INFORMATION - RADB
7.1Hearing Location
7.2Representation
7.3Adjournments
7.4Recorded Hearings and Reasons
7.5Public Hearings
7.6 Conduct at Hearings...... 9
8. KEY CONTACT INFORMATION……………………………………………..…..10
9. APPENDICES...... 10
1.BACKGROUND
The Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board (RADB) came into operation on 1 March 2010 as a consequence of amendments to the Racing Act 1958 (Vic). The amendments were included in the Racing Legislation Amendment (Racing Integrity Assurance) Act 2009 (Vic).Section 83B of the Racing Act 1958 (the Act) establishes the RADB.
The RADB is an independent Board which primarily:
- hears appeals against decisions imposed by the GreyhoundRacing Victoria Stewards, and
- determines in the first instance anyallegedbreach of the Rules of Racing which is defined asa ‘Serious Offence.’
This document provides an overview of the procedures of the RADBfor Victorian greyhoundracing.It includes application forms, procedures and contact information.
The relevant Local Rules in relation to the RADB are provided at Appendix 1.
2.FUNCTIONS
In accordance with Section 83C of the Act, the functionsof the RADB are to:
a)hear and determine appeals made under section 83J in relation to decisions made under the rules to impose penalties on persons;
b)hear and determine charges made against persons for serious offences;
c)hear and determine appeals in relation to decisions made under the rules following a direction made by the Racing Integrity Commissioner under section 83K;
d)hear and determine any matter referred to the GRV Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board by Greyhound Racing Victoria -
(i) on Greyhound Racing Victoria's own motion; or
(ii) on the recommendation of the Stewards.
3. CONSTITUTION
Under sections 83E & F of the Act, the Chair and Deputy Chair of the RADB are appointed by the Governor-in-Council following a recommendation from the Minister for Racing.
The Minister must appoint an eligible person to be Chairperson of the GRV Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board.
The Minister, on the recommendation of Greyhound Racing Victoria, must appoint an eligible person to be the Deputy Chairperson of the GRV Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board.
Section 83D of the Act requires GRV to appoint a panel of up to 15 members to the RADB.
Any proceeding before the RADB must be heard by:
a)the Chairperson and up to 4 other members selected by, and at the discretion of, the Chairperson; or
b)the Deputy Chairperson and up to 4 other members selected by, and at the discretion of, the Chairperson.
In the majority of cases a three member panel will be present at a hearing and will be comprised of the Chairman and/or Deputy Chairman and panel members.
A list of the current RADB members is contained at Appendix 2.
RADB members cannot take part in any hearings where he or she has a conflict of interest and such interest must be declared and recorded.
Refer to the Racing Act (1958) for further information on the functions and processes of the RADB.
4.APPEALS
4.1How do I lodge an appeal with the RADB?
A person appealing the decision and/or severity of the penalty imposed must complete the form attached at Appendix 3 and lodge the completed form with the RADB Registrar.
The appeal must be lodged by the third calendar day (not business day) following the date of the decision the person wishes to appeal.
Where the appeal period expires on a weekend or public holiday, the appeal time is extended to expire on the next business day i.e. if a person is suspended on Thursday the Notice of Appeal form must be lodged by 5pm on Monday.
The Notice of Appeal form is available on the GreyhoundRacing Victoria website:
The form can be faxed to: 03 9258 4848 or emailed to
4.2Is there a cost to lodge an appeal?
Currentlythere is no requirement to pay a fee when lodging an appeal with the RADB.
4.3What happens if I don’t lodge my appeal in time?
Where an appeal is not lodged within the required timeframe the appellant must provide, in writing, an application to the RADB seeking leave to appeal out of time and outlining the reasons for failing to lodge the appeal on time.
In accordance with section 83L of the Act leave to appeal may be granted if the RADB is of the opinion that the appellant has provided a satisfactory explanation for his or her failure to institute the appeal within the period specified in section 83J(2) and considers that it would be unjust to refuse leave.
The decision to grant leave is made at the discretion of the RADB Chairman or Deputy Chairman and generally only exceptional circumstances are considered.
4.4Can I apply for a stay of proceedings?
A stay of proceedings may be requested by completing the relevant section on the Notice of Appeal form. A ‘stay’ effectively suspends in whole or in part the operation of the decision/penalty pending the determination of the appeal by the RADB.
The decision to grant a stay of proceedings is made at the absolute discretion of the RADB and is not automatically granted.
4.5What happens once my appeal has been lodged?
Once the Notice of Appeal has been lodged with the Registrar, the RADB Chairman or Deputy Chairman will be advised and will set a hearing date, in addition to considering any application for a stay of proceedings.
Both parties will then be advised of the hearing date and time, and whether a stay of proceedings has been granted.
Prior to the hearing, the Registrar will provide the appellant with any relevant materials which may include the transcript of the Stewards inquiry, Stewards Report, Race Results/Form and vision of the race or incident.
4.6What happens at the appeal hearing?
The order in which the parties present their case to the Board and the manner in which this is done will depend on the nature of the proceeding and may be subject to the discretion of the RADB Chairman.
Generally, hearings are conducted as follows:
- The Stewards will provide their evidence in support of the charge or penalty by referring to the transcript and/or showing the relevant vision. They may also refer to the appellant’s record and any other matters that they deem relevant in reaching their decision.
- The appellant will then have the opportunity to question the Stewards on any part of their evidence which may include referring to the transcript and outlining their interpretation of the vision.
- The appellant will then make their submissions to the Board as to why the decision or penalty should be overturned or reduced. The evidence they rely upon to support their submissions may again include references to the transcript or outlining their interpretation of the vision.
- The Stewards will then have the opportunity to ask questions of the appellant and the evidence that they have submitted to the Board.
- Any witnesses that are called are subject to cross-examination by the other party.
Any documents or other material sought to be relied should generally be filed and served with the Registrar and the RADB prior to the hearing. However, the RADB may at their discretion allow certain documents or material to be tendered during the hearing.
4.7When does the RADB make its decision?
After the parties have put forward their cases the RADB will retire to make its decision. Generally the RADB will hand down its decision shortly thereafter.
- Where an appeal was made against the decision and penalty and the RADB dismisses the appeal against the decision, the RADB will generally hear further evidence from both parties in relation to the penalty. At this point, the appellant may also wish to put forward financial or personal matters in mitigation of penalty.
The RADB will then retire to make its decision on penalty and hand this down shortly thereafter.
4.8Can I withdraw my appeal?
If an appellant wishes to withdraw their appeal prior to the hearing an application must be made in writing to the RADB outlining the reasons for withdrawing the appeal.
4.9 No Right of Appeal
Subject to LR 23.2(c), where the Penalty imposed by the Stewards in relation to an Offence in relation to a person, Club or greyhound is:
(a)a fine of $250 or less; or
(b)a penalty which is not a suspension, disqualification or warning off,
the person, Club or the Owner or Trainer of that greyhound on whom the Penalty was imposed has no right of appeal to the RADB.
4.10Appeals against fines of $250 or less
As indicated above, an appeal cannot be made directly to the RADB where the penalty is a fine of equal to or less than $250.
In such circumstances, an application must be made in writing to the Racing Integrity Commissioner requesting that the Racing Integrity Commissioner consider directing the RADB to hear such an appeal.
The application must be made by 5.00pm on the third day after the day that the relevant person receives notice of the decision.
Where the Racing Integrity Commissioner considers that it is in the ‘public interest’ for the appeal to be heard and so directs, the RADB must hear and determine the appeal.
Applications to the Commissioner's Office can be faxed to: 03 8684 7778
For further information and contact details please visit:
.
5.SERIOUS OFFENCE HEARINGS
5.1 What is a serious offence?
Under section 83C(b) of the Act, the RADB has jurisdiction to hear and determine any charge issued by the Stewards against a person in relation to any alleged breach of a rule defined as a ‘Serious Offence’. An extract of the relevant Local Rules is provided at Appendix 4.
Charges laid by the Stewards under these Rules must be heard by the RADB.
5.2I’ve been charged with a SeriousOffence, what happens next?
The Stewards will provide the person charged with a copy of the Notice of Charge and the Brief of Evidence that supports the charge. This may include transcripts of interviews or inquiries, witness statements and statements from experts.
Prior to setting a hearing date, the Registrar will contact the person charged to confirm information relevant to the proceeding including whether the defendant has engaged representation, if the charge (or aspects of it) are being contested or if there will be a guilty plea and any other relevant features, such as witnesses required.
The RADB will then set a date for the hearing of the charge and the Registrar will advise the relevant parties.
5.3Directions Hearing
Where required, the Chairman or Deputy Chairman may schedule a pre-hearing conference prior to the hearing to discuss any outstanding issues or matters that are being contested.
This Directions Hearing isan informal meeting of the parties with the RADB Chairman or Deputy Chairman.
5.4What happens at the hearing?
At the hearing, the Stewards or a representative on their behalf will lead the evidence to support the charge.
The person charged or his/her representative will be at liberty to cross examine any witness called by the Stewards.
The Stewards or their representative may re-examine any of their witnesses.
The person charged is also able to call, cross examine and re-examine witnesses.
The RADB then makes its decision.
If a charge is proven to the satisfaction of the RADB, submissions regarding penalty are then heard.
6.VCAT
6.1How do I apply to VCAT for a review of a RADB decision?
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) can review a decision made by the RADB where a person whose interests are affected by a decision made by the RADB makes an application to VCAT. The Stewards may also apply to VCAT for review of the decision.
An Application for Review form must be completed and lodged directly with VCAT along with payment of a fee. Information regarding the fee can be obtained from VCAT’s website:
The Application for Review (Form 1) can be downloaded directly from VCAT’s website:
Applications must be lodged within 28 days from the date of the RADB decision.
If you have any queries please contact VCAT directly:
Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal
55 King Street, Melbourne VIC 3000
T: 03 9628 9777 / 9755
F: 03 9628 9789 / 9788
E:
W:
7.GENERAL INFORMATION - RADB
7.1Hearing Location
RADB hearings aregenerally conducted at the offices of GreyhoundRacing Victoria, 46-50 Chetwynd St, West Melbourne.
7.2Representation
A party to a proceeding before the RADBis entitled to be represented at the hearing of the matter by a legal practitioner or other person.
7.3Adjournments
Where possible, applications for an adjournment of a RADB hearing should be provided in writing no later than 2 working days prior to the hearing date. The request should state the reasons for the adjournment.
If the RADB is not disposed to accept the application, the parties will be informed.
If the request is opposed by a party, the RADB may hold a Directions Hearing to determine the application and the parties must attend.
7.4Recorded Hearings and Reasons
All hearings are recorded. If you would like the hearing transcribed, you must arrange this through the Registrar.
Where the RADB gives verbal reasons for a decision, a party may within 28 days of the decision; request the RADB to give written reasons. In such cases, the RADB must comply with the request within 28 days after the request was made.
Results of decisions are available via the link below:
7.5Public Hearings
All proceedings of the RADB must be held in public unless the RADB directs or orders, either on application of a party or acting on its own initiative, that:
a)a proceeding or any part of a proceeding be held in private; or
b)any evidence given at a proceeding, the content of any documents produced to the RADB or any information that might enable a party or another person to be identified must not be published or published only in the manner and to the persons specified by the RADB.
7.6 Conduct at Hearings
Pursuant to Section 83OB of the Act, a person must not:
(a)insult, threaten or intimidate a member of the GRV Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board in the performance of functions or the exercise of powers as a member at a proceeding before the GRV Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board; or
(b)repeatedly interrupt a proceeding before the GRV Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board; or
(c) create a disturbance, or take part in creating or continuing a disturbance, in or near a place where the GRV Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board is conducting a proceeding; or
(d)do any other act that would, if the GRV Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board were the Supreme Court, constitute contempt of that court.
8.KEY CONTACT INFORMATION
Registrar – Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board
Racing Victoria
400 Epsom Road
Flemington VIC 3031
Phone: 03 9258 4260
Fax: 03 9258 4848
Email:
Deputy Registrar – GRV Racing Appeals and Disciplinary Board
Contact via Member Services
Phone: 03 8329 1100
Email:
9.APPENDICES
Appendix 1 -Local Rules Extract: RADB
Appendix 2 - List of Current RADB Members
Appendix 3 - Notice of Appeal Form
Appendix 4 - Local Rules of Racing – List of Serious Offences
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