Administrative Review Tribunal (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2024

The majority voted against amendments introduced by NSW Senator David Shoebridge (Greens), which means they were not successful. The amendments related to reconsideration of Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA) decisions.

Amendment text

(1)—Clause 2, page 4 (at the end of the table), add:

11. Schedule 6

The day after this Act receives the Royal assent.

(2)—Page 49 (after line 17), at the end of the bill, add:

Schedule 6 — Reconsideration of IAA decisions

1 Definitions

In this Schedule:

ART means the Administrative Review Tribunal.

IAA means the Immigration Assessment Authority, as in existence before the transition time.

Minister means the Minister administering the Migration Act 1958.

new Act means the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024.

transition time means the time the new Act commences.

2 Reconsideration of decisions on protection visa applications

(1) Subitem (2) applies if, at any time before the transition time:

(a) a person applied for a protection visa (within the meaning of the Migration Act 1958); and

(b) a decision (the original decision) under section 65 of that Act on the person's application had been made to refuse to grant the visa to the person; and

(c) the IAA reviewed and affirmed the original decision; and

(d) the person has not been granted a protection visa since the original decision was made.

(2) The Minister must:

(a) refer the original decision to the ART as soon as practicable after the commencement of this item; and

(b) notify the person in writing that the Minister as referred the original decision.

(3) If the person requests the Minister to withdraw the referral, the Minister must withdraw the referral.

(4) If the Minister refers an original decision to the ART under subitem (2), and the referral is not withdrawn on request of the person:

(a) the person is taken to have made an application to the ART under section 347 of the Migration Act 1958 (as amended by Schedule 2 to the Administrative Review Tribunal (Consequential and Transitional Provisions No. 1) Act 2024) for a review of a reviewable protection decision; and

(b) the application is taken to have been properly made under sections 347 and 347A of the Migration Act 1958 (as amended by Schedule 2 to the Administrative Review Tribunal (Consequential and Transitional Provisions No. 1) Act 2024).

(5) The ART must, as soon as practicable after receiving the referral, review the original decision and:

(a) affirm the original decision; or

(b) remit the original decision for reconsideration in accordance with such directions or recommendations of the ART as the ART considers appropriate.

(6) In reviewing the original decision, the ART must:

(a) give the person a reasonable opportunity to provide additional information in relation to the original decision; and

(b) disregard the decision made by the IAA to affirm the original decision.

3 Effect of this Schedule

This Schedule has effect despite any other law of the Commonwealth.

4 Rules

(1) The Minister administering the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024 may, by legislative instrument, make rules prescribing matters relating to the review by the ART of decisions covered by subitem 2(1).

(2) Without limiting subitem (1) of this item, rules made for the purposes of that subitem may modify the operation of this Schedule or the new Act, to the extent that the modification is necessary to facilitate the review by the ART of the decisions covered by subitem 2(1).