On 16 December 2022, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus announced the federal government’s plan to abolish the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and replace it with a new administrative review body. The reasons for the proposed abolition were that the AAT had become too politicized through politically motivated appointments of AAT members, which rendered the tribunal dysfunctional.
This reform is designed to ensure Australia’s system of administrative review is user-focused, efficient, accessible, independent, and fair. Key features of the reform are to:
- implement a transparent and merit-based appointment process
- appoint additional members to the current AAT to tackle existing backlogs
- implement sustainable funding arrangements
- implement a single, updated case management system to address critical business risks to the AAT
- introduce procedural efficiencies and process improvements
- implement support services and emphasize early resolution where possible.
The Attorney-General’s Department website states that “all cases currently before the AAT will continue. If you have applied to the AAT for review of a decision, you do not need to submit a new application”.
As of writing, there is no indication of when the new review body will be implemented. Attorney-General’s Department website advises “any remaining cases will transition to the new review body” once it is established. You can apply for a review of a decision while the reform is being progressed.