Part 1 – President's Report

On 1 July 2015 the Migration Review Tribunal and the Refugee Review Tribunal (the MRT-RRT) became the Migration & Refugee Division of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). In this final consolidated annual report of the MRT-RRT, it is important to acknowledge the contributions that the Migration Review Tribunal (MRT) and the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) have made to administrative justice in Australia.

The RRT, which commenced in July 1993 replacing the Refugee Status Review Committee, finalised close to 93,000 cases prior to its amalgamation with the AAT. The MRT, formed in 1999 by the merging of the Immigration Review Tribunal and the Migration Internal Review Office, finalised close to 145,000 cases. This equates to around 240,000 cases decided by both tribunals and represents a significant contribution in the provision of administrative justice. This is a credit to the many members and staff who have worked at the MRT and RRT over the past 21 years.

The key objectives of the MRT-RRT during 2014-15 were to finalise 21,000 cases, to reduce the number of active cases and to reduce the age of those cases. Active cases were those for which an application for review had been lodged with the MRT-RRT and remained undecided.

The MRT-RRT exceeded that target – collectively finalising 21,567 cases. The largest number of MRT cases were finalised in the student refusal, partner, and temporary work case categories, while for the RRT, cases finalised were highest for applicants from Sri Lanka, China and India.

From a high of 22,000 active cases in December 2012, the MRT-RRT steadily decreased the number of cases on hand, so that at 30 June 2015 there were 13,937 active cases. This was achieved without diminution in the quality of decisions or the fairness of processes.

Processing times for MRT cases improved, in some cases significantly. The time it took from when an applicant lodged an application to when they received a decision for MRT cases improved by 20% in the past 12 months, from 364 days to 289 days. The most significant improvements in processing times were for student refusal, permanent business, student cancellation and nomination/sponsor approval cases.

Applicants received a consistently high level of service and speedy finalisation of their cases.

The effective and efficient operation of the MRT-RRT during 2014-2015 was significantly contributed to by the committed leadership of its Principal Member, Kay Ransome, who retained the goodwill of the tribunals’ membership and staff through a challenging period of transition and change.

The dedicated staff and members of the MRT-RRT achieved these outcomes through a range of new work practices, including expanding the hearing list format in the MRT caseload, continuing the use of member specialisation, and making changes to decision writing.

The online lodgement facility launched in 2014 was the preferred mode of lodgement for new applications at around 70%. Further innovations and efficiencies began to be pursued in 2015 with greater electronic communication with applicants. With the commencement in April 2015 of the Migration Amendment (Protection and Other Measures) Act further efficiencies are expected. That Act gave the MRT-RRT several new powers to assist in achieving the statutory objectives of providing fair, just, economical, informal and quick merit reviews.

The Migration and Maritime Powers Legislation Amendment (Resolving the Asylum Legacy Caseload) Act 2014 also came into effect on 18 April 2015. That Act established the Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA) to be an independent statutory office within the RRT to review decisions to refuse a protection visa to certain unauthorised maritime arrivals who arrived in Australia between August 2012 and December 2013. As at 30 June 2015, none of those cases had yet flowed through to the IAA.

In the reporting period the MRT and the RRT farewelled Principal Member Kay Ransome, Deputy Principal Member Amanda MacDonald and the following members, with gratitude for their contribution to the performance of the two tribunals:

John Blount Wendy Boddison Melissa Bray Danica Buljan Megan Deane Edwin Delofski Richard Derewlany Jonathan Duignan Suseela Durvasula Jennifer Ellis Roger Fordham Patrick Francis John Godfrey Sally Hunt Rowena Irish Andrew Jacovides Simon Jeans Deborah Jordan Anthony Krohn Suzanne Leal Gary Ledson Rosemary Mathlin Philippa McIntosh Raymond McNicol Adam Moore Vanessa Moss Alison Murphy Charles Powles Andrew Rozdilsky Peter Tyler

The MRT and RRT welcomed the following members who, along with Deputy Principal Member Irene O’Connell, were appointed on 30 June 2015:

David Barker Brendan Darcy Tigiilagi Eteuati Nicola Findson Tania Flood Ian Garnham Geraldine Hoeben Linda Holub Penelope Hunter Christine Kannis Fiona Meagher Amanda Paxton Alexandra Strang Roz Smidt Kate Timbs Susan Trotter Rachel Westaway Paul Windsor

Having sufficient members assigned to undertake this work in the coming years will be critical to the success of the Migration and Refugee Division of the AAT.

Amalgamation

The Commonwealth Administrative Review Committee (Kerr Committee) concluded in 1971 that the basic fault of the entire administrative law structure at that time was that review could not, as a general rule, be obtained on the merits despite that being what the aggrieved citizen was seeking. The Kerr Committee recommended that merits review be made available and that such review should be undertaken by a single independent, highly skilled, generalist body. Four decades later, with bipartisan support, that recommendation has been largely implemented when on 1 July 2015 the MRT-RRT and the Social Security Appeals Tribunal (SSAT) were amalgamated into the AAT.

The amalgamation will simplify the pathways for individuals and organisations seeking review of Commonwealth administrative decisions without diminishing existing rights of review.

It should not be thought that the new system will be static. It would be surprising if the amalgamation does not reveal further opportunities for reform – including removal of any remaining legacy inconsistencies in aspects of the AAT’s procedures which have no ongoing utility.

Bringing the four tribunals together offers opportunities to enhance the merits review system. The transfer of the members and staff of the MRT, RRT and SSAT to the AAT and the broad preservation of the procedures of each of the tribunals will allow for a continuity of experience for users of the tribunals. Efficiencies will be achieved through the consolidation of corporate operations.

The Government’s decision to amalgamate the key Commonwealth merits review tribunals was a primary area of focus of the tribunals and their staff and members in 2014-15. The successful implementation of this decision was only possible because of the collaboration and cooperation of many people, particularly in the tribunals, the Attorney-General’s Department and the portfolio departments for the MRT-RRT and SSAT. Action was required across a broad range of areas, including development and passage of the Tribunals Amalgamation Act 2015, reviewing and updating practice and procedure documentation, consideration of membership and staffing arrangements, as well as the many other practical issues associated with creating a single organisation from 1 July 2015.

I thank the former Principal Member Kay Ransome and the Registrar of the MRT-RRT Colin Plowman who worked tirelessly to ensure the success of the amalgamation while also working with the members and staff of the MRT-RRT to ensure that the day-to-day delivery of merits review was to the highest standards. Many other staff of the tribunals also played critical roles in the amalgamation, particularly through their participation in working groups established to deal with issues relating to client service delivery, financial and human resources management, information technology, library and information services, tribunal practice and procedure and property.

Finally, I would also like to acknowledge the work of the staff of the Attorney-General’s Department, particularly Deputy Secretary David Fredericks and the Tribunals Amalgamation Taskforce, who coordinated the implementation of the Government’s decision. The way in which they engaged with the tribunals has assisted in the establishment of an amalgamated AAT that is well-placed to meet the needs of the Australian community into the future.