The Attorney-General has received the report of a review of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), required by the law that amalgamated the Tribunal with three other Tribunals in 2015.
The Tribunals Amalgamation Act 2015 saw the AAT take over the former Social Security Appeals Tribunal, the Migration Review Tribunal and the Refugee Review Tribunal with a requirement that it be reviewed in three years.
Attorney-General, Christian Porter said the change meant the AAT now provided a one-stop shop for the independent review of a wide range of decisions made by the Australian Government.
”This was a significant reform to Australia’s administrative law framework, designed to improve efficiency and reduce costs under the previous system,” Mr Porter said.
He said the review was conducted by former Justice of the High Court of Australia, Ian Callinan (pictured), who was asked to evaluate the amalgamated tribunal and identify further improvements that could enhance its work.
“Since the amalgamation, the Tribunal’s workload has increased significantly, particularly in the Migration and Refugee Division,” the Attorney-General said.
Mr Callinan’s report includes a recommendation that membership of the AAT should be confined to lawyers.
He found the AAT was “not always meeting community expectations” and long delays were encouraging migrants to lodge applications for review.
Mr Callinan also recommended the AAT’s bureaucracy be slashed and described as “anomalous” the ability of individuals seeking to challenge social security payments to take two opportunities to challenge Government decisions, rather than one.
In a bid to restrict migration appeals, Mr Callinan said the Government should consider legislation for a “new information rule” which would give the AAT discretion to receive or refuse evidence not before the original decision-maker.
Mr Porter said Mr Callinan’s report was being carefully considered and the Government would formally respond in due course.
He said he was committed to improving the efficiency of the AAT and maintaining the integrity of Australia’s migration policy.
Mr Callinan’s 190-page report can be accessed at this PS News link.
