Mark Dreyfus (Isaacs, Australian Labor Party, Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Hansard source

The member for Fowler's amendment would alter section 368 of the Migration Act so as to require the tribunal's notice of decisions and statement of reasons to clearly outline 'next steps and action required' for applicants.

I can say directly that the government does not support the proposed amendment but not because we don't share entirely the objectives of the member for Fowler in making the processes of the Administrative Review Tribunal and administrative decision-making in respect of Migration Act matters as accessible, clear and available to applicants as they can possibly be.

We accept entirely the observations of the member for Fowler about the difficulty that is faced by many applicants, created by cultural and language barriers in their lives, to accessing the processes of the tribunal. It's for that reason that the provisions of the Administrative Review Tribunal Bill and the consequential bill that is now before the House require that applicants be given written notice when a tribunal case event is scheduled or where the tribunal has given a direction for something to be done. That requirement is already there in the legislation as proposed. This ensures that applicants understand what they're required to do and the time frames for doing so.

The particular section of the Migration Act to which the member for Fowler's amendment would attach is section 368. It applies to the tribunal's final decision in a migration or protection matter—that is, not procedural decisions and not directions in running but the decision whether to affirm, overturn or remit the original decision-maker's decision.

Section 368 of the Migration Act modifies section 111 of the Administrative Review Tribunal Bill to require that tribunal decisions provide additional information for reviewable migration and protection decisions. In particular, the decision must include the time and the date of the decision, which are essential to meet the need for certainty here. I referred to that need for certainty earlier in this debate about Migration Act processes. It's essential to meet the need for certainty about when a decision on a review of these decisions is final.

I can assure the member for Fowler that, in the government's view, not only does the legislation already require that there be clarity given to applicants and that applicants have the effect of a decision absolutely clearly spelled out for them, as well as the time and the date of a decision, but the government intends to work with the new tribunal over coming months to ensure that all communications with all parties to a review are clear, are accessible and are comprehensive.

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