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Inquiry into the Administrative Review Tribunal and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025

Submission Date: 1 October 2025

The Law Council of Australia thanks the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee (Committee) for the opportunity to make a submission in response to its inquiry into the Administrative Review Tribunal and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 (ART Amendment Bill). The Bill seeks to amend the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024 (Cth) (ART Act) and the Migration Act 1958 (Cth).

The Law Council acknowledges that the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) is experiencing high levels of applications for review, resulting in more than 110,000 cases on hand.1 The Attorney-General’s Second Reading Speech identified that “since early 2024, the [ART] has experienced a significant surge in applications for review of decisions to refuse student visas”.2

It is important to ensure the efficiency of the ART’s operations in these circumstances. Inefficiency impacts all users of the ART. The quick resolution of matters with as little formality and expense as a proper consideration of the relevant matter permits is a key objective of the ART.3 The Explanatory Memorandum to the ART Amendment Bill identifies that its proposed amendments are intended to support that objective.

However, efficiency should not undermine the ART’s various other objectives, including that it be fair and just; that it be accessible and responsive to the diverse needs of parties to proceedings; that it improves the transparency and quality of government decision-making; and that it promotes public trust and confidence in its functions.5

The Law Council is concerned by the ART Amendment Bill’s removal of the opportunity for an oral hearing for certain groups of applicants. In particular, the proposed blanket requirement to review certain migration matters on the papers limits the ART’s flexibility in matters where an oral hearing may be necessary to accord procedural fairness and presents a more efficient option than reliance on written materials alone. The proposed requirement may particularly disadvantage unrepresented applicants and those from diverse backgrounds, who may struggle to present their case(s) in a written form, without affording the ART appropriate discretion to hold an oral hearing for applicants where the circumstances require it.

The Law Council is further concerned that the proposed amendments are being introduced only one year into the ART’s operation, without adequate public consultation or explanation as to why the ART’s demand-driven, sustainable funding model6 does not appear to be working as intended. The proposed amendments also tend to retreat from the user-focused design and simpler and more consistent processes originally contemplated for the range of migration and other proceedings before the ART. Among other reasons, such reforms were introduced in recognition that the now-abolished Independent Assessment Authority (IAA), which conducted its reviews solely on the papers, was not producing fair outcomes.7 It should also be noted that, while the former Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was permitted to make decisions on the papers, this still required the consent of the parties to the proceeding under section 34J of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth).

This submission addresses the ART Amendment Bill’s proposals for the ART Act and Migration Act in turn.

1 Administrative Review Tribunal, Corporate Plan 2025–26, 1. 
2 Commonwealth, Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, 3 September 2025, 11 (Michelle Rowland, Attorney-General).
3 Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024 (Cth), s 9(b).
4 Explanatory Memorandum, Administrative Review Tribunal and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 1 [5], 2 [6].
5 Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024 (Cth), ss 9(a), (c)-(e).
6 Mark Dreyfus MP, ’First day of the Administrative Review Tribunal’ (Media Release, 14 October 2024). 
7 Law Council of Australia, Submission to Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee, Performance and Integrity of Australia’s Administrative Review System (7 December 2021) [65]

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Last Updated on 20/10/2025

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