Libby Coker (Corangamite, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

This bill, the Administrative Review Tribunal Bill 2023, and the associated bills, is the most important reform of the federal system of administrative review for decades. It will abolish the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and replace it with the new and much improved Administrative Review Tribunal.

Effective administrative review is critical to Australia's system of government. A strong, user focused administrative review body provides an avenue for community members to seek independent review of government decisions that have major and sometimes life-altering impacts on their lives. It is critical to protecting the rights and interests of individuals and organisations, including the most vulnerable members of our communities. Critically, high-quality reviews of government decision-making can—and, if this bill is enacted, will—encourage better-quality decision-making across government.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal reviews Commonwealth government decisions in areas such as migration, social services, the NDIS and veterans affairs. It affects every component of our lives, and it's an important body of oversight over government decisions. Every year thousands of people rely on the AAT to independently review government decisions—decisions such as whether an older Australian receives the age pension, whether a veteran is compensated for a service injury or whether a participant in the NDIS receives funding for essential support.

The driving rationale behind this reform is that, under the coalition government, we saw a stacking of the AAT. This was a sight to behold. It was disgraceful. As many as 85 former Liberal MPs, failed Liberal candidates, former Liberal staffers and other close associates of the Liberal Party were put into plum jobs with the AAT, without any merit based selection process, on salaries worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. They did it again and again, including on the eve of the last election. Decisions of the AAT have life-changing impacts for thousands of Australians. This approach is disrespectful, lacks compassion and lacks integrity.

In the six months before we came to government, the NDIA spent more than $28 million fighting appeals in the AAT. Over 4,500 NDIS participants had complaints with the AAT—an increase of 400 per cent on the previous year. Thanks to the Minister for Government Services and the Minister for the NDIS, more than 90 per cent of those cases have now been resolved and we now have 30 per cent fewer cases being referred to the AAT in the first place. From people with disability seeking support through the NDIS to vulnerable families trying to get the right social security payments, Australians should and must be able to count on the AAT to get a fair hearing. But the Liberal Party didn't seem to care about this. The stacking of the AAT by the coalition government was shameless.

The Albanese government does care about Australians who are struggling. We do care about their right to a fair and independent process and to having a system they can trust. We have wasted no time, on coming into office, in starting to fix the mess those opposite left.

This legislation requires that members of the tribunal be appointed through a competitive, publicly advertised merit based process. Our commitment to this is already on display, with more than 100 new appointments already made through our merit based process. The ART Bill builds on 50 years of experience, learning and broad consultation to establish a tribunal that is user focused, efficient, accessible, independent and, importantly, fair. The ART Bill implements all three recommendations from the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee review into the performance and integrity of Australia's administrative review system, four recommendations from the Royal Commission into the Robodebt Scheme and the government's response to two recommendations from the Rapid Review into the Exploitation of Australia's Visa System.

The tribunal's objective will be to provide an independent mechanism of review that is fair and just; resolves applications in a timely manner and with as little formality and expense as is consistent with reaching the correct or preferable decision; is accessible and responsive to the diverse needs of parties involved; improves the transparency and quality of decision-making; and, importantly, promotes public trust and confidence in the tribunal.

The tribunal incorporates key features to improve merits review, including simpler and more consistent processes; an emphasis on non-adversarial approaches to resolving applications; a suite of powers and procedures to respond flexibly to changing caseloads and help to resolve cases more efficiently and effectively; a simple membership structure with clear qualification requirements and role description for every level of membership; clear roles and responsibilities for those who hold leadership positions in the tribunal, including the president and the principal registrar; a transparent and merit based appointment process for members informed by the operational needs of the tribunal to ensure only the highest quality members are appointed to these important roles; and powers for the president to manage the performance, conduct and professional development of members.

The ART Bill also has mechanisms to identify, escalate and report on systemic issues in administrative decision-making, including the re-establishment of the Administrative Review Council. This council is important. It will monitor the integrity of the Commonwealth administrative review system, inquire into systematic challenges in administrative law and support education and training for Commonwealth officials.

The bill also establishes, for the first time, a guidance and appeals panel within the tribunal to resolve matters raising systemic issues and review tribunal decisions that may be affected by error. It is worth saying that these errors have significant implications for people's lives. The panel will provide a mechanism for escalating significant issues and addressing material errors in tribunal decisions.

Finally, the bill enables the tribunal to publish any decision and requires it to publish all decisions involving significant conclusions of law with implications for Commonwealth policy or administration.

The consequential and transitional bill repeals the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975, to be replaced by the tribunal established by the ART Bill. It amends 138 Commonwealth acts to ensure that existing legislation operates as intended for the new tribunal, updates hundreds of references across the Commonwealth statute book, and streamlines the various regimes that currently apply to review of matters in the tribunal. In particular, the bill retains essential modifications to the operation of the merits review framework for tax and charity matters which ensures the workability of these frameworks and protection of tax revenue collection or otherwise upholds longstanding core tax principles and practices.

It abolishes the Immigration Assessment Authority and harmonises provisions relating to reviews of migration and refugee decisions, providing a broader suite of tools for the efficient and effective resolution of these matters. It adjusts the exhaustive statement of the natural justice hearing rule for migration and protection matters so that it continues to codify matters relating to notification, non-disclosable information and requirements on what information must and must not be put to an applicant for comment before certain powers are exercised. At the same time, it enables flexibility for the tribunal to reduce delays and backlogs in migration and refugee matters, increases fairness for genuine applicants and maintains the integrity of the migration system. It alters the approach to the review of social security and child-support decisions. Instead of a two-layer approach in which neither layer is fully effective, the bill provides for a more fit-for-purpose style of review. Matters will be triaged with the resolution pathway, adapted according to the complexity of the matter and whether the participation of the decision-maker will assist in effective and efficient resolution. This means that finding resolutions to complex issues will help vulnerable people—in particular, veterans, pensioners, people on unemployment benefits and single parents. They deserve our support. The consequential and transitional provisions bill will also maintain merit review in two separate bodies as a unique feature of veterans' entitlement law, with matters reviewed in the Veterans' Review Board continuing to be appealable to the ART.

The consequential and transitional provisions bill also contains measures to give effect to the transition from the AAT to the ART. This includes transitioning the tribunal's active, pending and potential caseloads, including matters currently before the courts, to minimise disruption and to maintain review rights. The bill also contains conditions for certain AAT members, including the president, to transition to the ART and sets out arrangements for certain members who do not. These bills have been informed by significant consultation, including guidance from the Administrative Review Expert Advisory Group, 120 responses to a public issues paper, 287 short survey responses, consultation with 147 stakeholders in 80 consultation events in April and May 2023, and close engagement across government and the AAT.

A second consequential and transitional bill will be introduced as soon as possible in the autumn 2024 sitting of parliament, amending acts not included in the first consequential and transitional bill. These acts represent less than seven per cent of the tribunal's case load. The amendments are predominantly minor and technical updates or amendments to Commonwealth acts which require consultation with the states and territories.

The government intends that the tribunal will commence operations in 2024, subject to timing of passage of the bills. The Attorney-General's Department is working with the AAT, government agencies and other stakeholders to identify and plan the practical steps required to implement the reform following passage of legislation. Appointment processes for members of the ART are already underway. I congratulate the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs, chaired by my friend and neighbour the member for Macquarie, for its suggestions on how the bill can be improved.

In closing, I say that the Albanese government has made a commitment to restoring integrity and faith in governmental systems and administration. As the chair of the NDIS joint standing committee, which has heard many harrowing stories from people with disabilities and their families and carers who have been about to face the AAT, I thank the Attorney-General for this historic and vital reform. The ART is another prime example of Labor making necessary reforms to ensure that Australians have an appeals process that is user focused, non-adversarial, efficient, accessible, independent and fair. We are committed to getting this right and to re-establishing a system that is fair and has integrity. I commend the Administrative Review Tribunal Bill and the associated bills to the House.

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