Supporting the Administrative Review Tribunal to deliver efficient and high-quality merits review

The Albanese Government has today introduced legislation to enhance the Administrative Review Tribunal’s ability to resolve matters in a timely and efficient manner, while ensuring applicants have a meaningful opportunity to present their case.

The Government is committed to ensuring the Tribunal has the tools it needs to respond to its increasing and evolving caseload.

One of the Tribunal’s core objectives is to ensure that applications to the Tribunal are resolved as quickly, and with as little expense, as proper consideration of those matters permits. 

This objective recognises that not every review is the same, and that the Tribunal should provide a meaningful opportunity for review in a way that is appropriate to the circumstances of the case. Currently, the Tribunal is generally required to hold oral hearings into all matters, and results in an inefficient allocation of resources and significant delays at the ART.

The Administrative Review Tribunal and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 enhances the Tribunal’s powers and procedures to ensure that the Tribunal can achieve this objective.

Informed by the 2023 Rapid Review into the Exploitation of Australia’s Visa System (the Nixon Review) and the operational experience of the ART since October 2024, the Bill would amend the Migration Act 1958 to require the Tribunal to make decisions ‘on the papers’ – that is, without holding an oral hearing – in reviews of decisions to refuse to grant a student visa.

The Bill would also allow by regulation for temporary visa review decisions – like tourist visas – to be made ‘on the papers’, with permanent and protection visas specifically excluded.

The new, bespoke process would support applicants to put their full case to the Tribunal in writing and require the Tribunal to consider any documents from the applicant in coming to a decision.

Consistent with the Nixon Review, these amendments would ensure the Tribunal can conduct proportionate and efficient review, thereby reducing delays, maintaining public confidence in the ART, and strengthening the integrity of the migration system.

The Bill would also amend the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024 to expand the circumstances in which the Tribunal can choose to make a decision based on written materials and without holding an oral hearing. This new discretion would contain important safeguards, including that the matters before the Tribunal be determinable without a hearing, that it is reasonable to do so, and that parties to the matter have been able to make submissions on whether a hearing is required.

Quotes attributable to the Attorney-General, Hon Michelle Rowland MP:

“The Albanese Government is committed to ensuring the Administrative Review Tribunal has the tools it needs to deliver efficient, timely and high-quality review of government decisions.”

“Merits review should be proportionate to the matters before the Tribunal. As it currently stands however, the Tribunal is generally required to hold an oral hearing into matters unless a limited number of exemptions apply. This is resource intensive and not appropriately targeted.”

“Informed by the Nixon Review and the operational experience of the Tribunal, this legislation enhances the Tribunal’s ability to conduct review in a proportionate way for matters which are generally not complex, while ensuring student visa applicants have a meaningful opportunity to fully present their case in writing.”

“These proposed procedures are an important step towards improving the efficiency of the Tribunal, and supporting timely decision making for applicants.”