Claims against a university: the role of administrative review in Australia and the United Kingdom

The recent decision of the High Court of Australia in Griffith University v. Tang denied judicial review to a student aggrieved by the decision of a university to exclude her. This article analyses the role of judicial review of university decision-making in the United Kingdom and Australia, analysing the justification for administrative remedies in universities. It considers the legislative reform of administrative review in Australia, and the impact of that reform in some states. It places administrative review in the context of the visitorial jurisdiction, where that jurisdiction still exists. Finally, it addresses some of the policy aspects of denying judicial review in the case of the university.