Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) Reforms

On 1 July 2015, the Migration Review Tribunal (MRT) and the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT) were merged with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).

Like the MRT, the AAT conducts independent merits review of administrative decision under the laws of the Commonwealth and has the same powers to affirm, vary, set aside or remit decisions.

The AAT has recently issued practice directions which places obligations on representatives and applicants which did not previously exist with respect to MRT/RRT matters and which everyone needs to be aware of if wishing to conduct applications in this jurisdiction. Included in these directions, it is necessary to note following:

1. At the time of lodging the review application applicants are expected to provide all relevant evidence and detailed submission supporting clients,
2. Any additional clients/submissions must be lodged no later than seven days prior to the hearing and must identify clearly any changes to the previous claims and any new or additional claims,
3. There are clear requirements as to how submissions are to be prepared;  claims must be clearly and concisely identified and the issues in a review must be addressed with details of the relevant facts that support the claims made in the submission,
4. Prehearing submissions must be submitted at less seven days prior to the hearing setting out all of the claims and must be accompanied by a declaration from the applicant confirming that the submission has been read and that it accurately and completely presents the claims,
5. Witness statements also need to be prepared and lodged with theTribunal; if for any reason a witness is unable to sign the statement, it is necessary to provide a synopsis of what the witness will say on the hearing date.

The requirements of the AAT means that for most agents the way in which they conduct review applications will need to change significantly. As distinct from the old practice of lodging a review application and then preparing submissions sometime between the lodging date and the date of hearing, and in some cases, not at all, it is now necessary to immediately identify issues and prepare supporting submissions. This will require careful analysis and attention to detail from the outset.