Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) to be Replaced by a New Body
On 07 December 2023, parliament has introduced bills to abolish the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (‘AAT’) and replace it with the new Administrative Review Tribunal (‘ART’). This comes almost a year after this had first been announced by the Attorney-General, citing the politicised appointments that had been made to the current AAT.
The new bills are:
Why is changing the AAT Body necessary?
Aside from the ‘cronyism’ criticised by the Attorney-General, a re-haul of the administrative appeals system was a long-time coming due to the severe delays and backlog that has been building up with migration matters at the AAT. For example, partner visa applications that have been appealed to the AAT are expected to take between a shocking 1,367 to 1,776 days to finalise (meaning you could be waiting nearly 5 years to be granted a partner visa).
For the best illustration of the delays that review applicants are experiencing at the AAT, one would only need to compare the processing times of the AAT in 2023 to those of 2020.
What will be changed in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal body?
The Attorney-General department’s office has stated that one of the intended aims of the new bills to the Migration Act is to “assist to reduce delays and backlogs in migration and refugee matters, increase fairness, and support the integrity of the migration system.”
In pursuit of this aim, the following changes has been proposed by the bills:
Repeal part 7 of the Migration Act (which deals with appeals by refugees) and merge it into a ‘single, harmonised’ process for the review of all migration and protection visa decisions in part 5 of the Migration Act.
Standardising timeframes for applying for review to 28 days from when the person was notified of a decision, except for certain applications where shorter timeframes are required.
Disapplying provisions in the ART Bill that would lead to uncertainty or compromise the finality of visa decisions, so that a person’s visa status is always clear, such as extensions of time, reinstatement of applications and remittal of decisions prior to the finalisation of a review.
Altering the effect of certain provisions in the AR T Bill concerning the provision of documents and statements of reasons to the Tribunal and parties to reflect the potential volume of materials relating to these reviews.
Providing a simplified system for access to Tribunal files on request for both migration and protection decisions, avoiding the need for lengthy processes under the FOI Act.
Adjusting the exhaustive statement of the natural justice hearing rule, so that it applies only in limited, critical areas.
The Attorney-General’s office has also previously announced that it will appoint at least 75 additional members to the new review body to address the existing backlog of cases.
How does this AAT changed Affect you as an applicant?
Please note that ongoing cases with the AAT will be transitioned automatically to the new ART.
How Can Agape Henry Crux Help
As the legal changes have not been finalised at the time of writing, it is important for all migrants to keep an eye on this shifting landscape. If you are uncertain how this change would affect your migration status, contact us at Agape Henry Crux, our Accredited Specialist Immigration Lawyer(s) and our team of immigration lawyers and migration agents are specialised in handling highly complex matters. You may schedule an appointment with one of our lawyers or agents to seek professional advice by calling 02-8310 5230 or email us at info@ahclawyers.com.
We speak fluent English, Mandarin, Cantonese and Malay. If this isn’t your language, we can also help you arrange an interpreter.
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