Two former state Coalition ministers have been given well paid jobs on the Administrative Appeals Tribunal just before the election, amid concerns over the politicisation of the court.
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And in a move set to escalate those attacks on Monday, Attorney-General Michaelia Cash revealed six more former Liberal staffers, candidates, and politicians have been appointed to the AAT.
Labor shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus has accused the Coalition of delaying the election to "throw around cushy" taxpayer-funded jobs to his allies.
The group includes a pair of state Coalition ministers - Pru Goward and Michael Mischin - who have been appointed senior member and deputy president respectively.
Ms Goward will be paid between $329,930 and $391,940 annually, while Mr Mischin will receive $496,560.
"All of the appointees are highly qualified to undertake the important task of conducting merits review of government decisions," Ms Cash said.
Ms Goward does not have a law degree, but held a host of NSW ministerial portfolios in a parliamentary career spanning 12 years.
She also served as the Sex Discrimination Commissioner under John Howard, a close friend, prior to entering politics.
Mr Mischin served as WA Attorney-General between 2012 and 2017, before his 12-year parliamentary career was ended by Mark McGowan's thumping victory last year.
AAT members roles are extremely secure, coming with seven-year terms and limited grounds for termination. They are eligible for reappointment at the end of their term.
Labor has repeatedly attacked the federal Coalition for appointing party loyalists to the AAT, accusing them of keeping unqualified members in six-figure roles as they failed to meet performance benchmarks.
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Mr Dreyfus said, by delaying calling an election, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was "hanging on to power" to rush through a lucrative appointments for Liberals.
"While Australians families struggle with the cost of living and stagnant pay packets, Scott Morrison is throwing around cushy $400,000 a year jobs to former Liberal MPs and staffers," he said.
Labor said there had now been at least 85 Liberal Party-affiliated people appointed to the AAT since the 2013 election.
A 2019 review of the AAT by former High Court Justice Ian Callinan found members, who made rulings on a number of vexed issues, should have legal qualifications.
A number of members also expressed concern over what they viewed as political appointments.
It was revealed in October that then-attorney-general Christian Porter knew John Griffin was a Liberal-aligned lobbyist when he was appointed to the AAT, but did not inform the court.
The court's system for checking conflicts of interests was labelled a "mess", after it was only alerted to Mr Griffin's employment by a media inquiry two years later.
AAT representatives were also forced to insist performance benchmarks were only a "planning tool", after revelations a former staffer to George Brandis was reaching just 45 per cent of his targets.
Finn McHugh
Finn McHugh has been federal political reporter for The Canberra Times since July 2021. He joined the Canberra Press Gallery in 2019 where he was executive producer of Sky News's AM Agenda, before joining NCA NewsWire as a federal political reporter. He has previously interned at the Kuwait Times.
Finn McHugh has been federal political reporter for The Canberra Times since July 2021. He joined the Canberra Press Gallery in 2019 where he was executive producer of Sky News's AM Agenda, before joining NCA NewsWire as a federal political reporter. He has previously interned at the Kuwait Times.
