THE HON MARK DREYFUS KC MP
ATTORNEY-GENERAL
CABINET SECRETARY
MEMBER FOR ISAACS
Albanese Government to restore trust and confidence in Australia’s system of administrative review
The Albanese Government is today introducing legislation to abolish the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and replace it with a new and much improved Administrative Review Tribunal (ART).
With the Administrative Review Tribunal Bill 2023 and the Administrative Review Tribunal (Consequential and Transitional Provisions No. 1) Bill 2023, the Government is seeking to restore trust and confidence in Australia’s system of administrative review.
The bills are informed by significant consultation, including guidance from an Expert Advisory Group led by former High Court Justice, the Honourable Patrick Keane AC KC, and engagement over many months with AAT staff and members, AAT users, peak bodies, legal assistance providers, advocates and other experts.
The previous government’s record of appointing dozens and dozens of individuals from the same political party to the AAT, many of whom possessed no relevant experience or expertise and some of whom were active lobbyists, is well-known.
However, the problems at the AAT extend beyond the absence of a merit-based selection process under the former government.
The Albanese Government inherited an AAT that is not on a sustainable financial footing, that is beset by delays and an extraordinarily large and growing backlog of applications and that is operating multiple and ageing electronic case management systems – a legacy of the former government’s mismanagement of the amalgamation of the AAT with the Social Security Appeals Tribunal and the Migration Review Tribunal and Refugee Review Tribunal.
An ineffective administrative review system comes at a very real cost to the tens of thousands of people who rely on the AAT each year to independently review government decisions that have major and sometimes life-altering impacts on their lives. These Australians were abandoned by the former government.
As the Robodebt Royal Commission noted:
Effective merits review is an essential part of the legal framework that protects the rights and interests of individuals; it also promotes government accountability and plays a broader important role in improving the quality and consistency of government decisions.
Administrative Review Tribunal Bill 2023
The Administrative Review Tribunal Bill establishes a new and much improved Tribunal with the objective of providing independent administrative review that:
- is fair and just
- resolves applications in a timely manner, and with as little formality and expense as is consistent with reaching the correct or preferable decision
- is accessible and responsive to the diverse needs of parties
- improves the transparency and quality of government decision making, and
- promotes public trust and confidence in the ART.
Key features of the Bill that promote these objectives include:
- a transparent merit-based appointment process for members
- simpler and more consistent processes
- a focus on non-adversarial approaches to resolving applications
- a new guidance and appeals panel for identifying and escalating systemic issues
- giving the President a function of engaging with civil society on the performance of the Tribunal’s functions, to ensure that users’ voices and interests are heard directly by the most senior leaders in the Tribunal, and
- powers for the President to manage the performance, conduct and professional development of members.
The Bill would also implement a number of recommendations of the Robodebt Royal Commission, including the re-establishment of the Administrative Review Council.
Consequential and Transitional Provisions Bill
The Administrative Review Tribunal (Consequential and Transitional Amendments No.1) Bill 2023 supports the establishment of the ART by amending 138 Commonwealth Acts, covering approximately 93 per cent of the ART’s caseload.
The Bill amends legislation relating to reviews of taxation and charity, social security, the National Disability Insurance Scheme, migration, veterans’ entitlements and security and intelligence decisions to ensure they are fit for purpose.
Through significant reforms to the Migration Act, the Bill will assist to reduce delays and backlogs in migration and refugee matters, increase fairness, and maintain the integrity of the migration system.
The Bill repeals special arrangements that unnecessarily displace or duplicate the powers and procedures of the ART, making processes simpler, more efficient and more readily understandable to users.
The Bill also provides for the smooth transition to the ART of the AAT’s institutional arrangements and current matters. Many cases currently before the AAT will be decided or finalised before the ART is established. The Bill ensures that any cases that remain before the AAT will transition to the ART, when it commences.
Further technical amendments will be required to approximately 120 Acts which refer to the AAT. These will be introduced into the Parliament next year.
More information about this significant reform can be found here.
Thursday, 7 December 2023
