Administrative and Judicial Review Legislation Amendment Bill 2026
Ms ROWLAND (Greenway—Attorney-General) (11:58): The purpose of the Administrative and Judicial Review Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 is to enhance the efficiency and responsiveness of the Administrative Review Tribunal and the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) to more effectively respond to their significant and increasing caseloads.
The bill incorporates several measures that would improve the efficiency of the tribunal. It also introduces a new requirement for the verification of the identity of an application for review of a prescribed reviewable migration or protection decision. In particular, the bill would enable the ART to give reasons for a decision orally in more cases, with written statements of reasons to be given at the request of a party.
A written record of a decision will continue to always be provided to parties. These changes will save ART resources in cases where oral reasons are suitable, but will still require written reasons in reviews relating to social security, aged-care, veterans' entitlements or the National Disability Insurance Scheme, and other prescribed caseloads. The bill would require applicants seeking merits review of a reviewable migration or protection decision to use an approved form when making their application.
This avoids the unnecessary chasing of information when the ART could be dedicating its efforts to managing cases. The bill would also require applicants seeking merits or judicial review of a prescribed protection or migration decision at the tribunal and the Federal Circuit and Family Court (Division 2) to verify their identity. This will ensure genuine engagement with the review processes for these matters.
Applicants in the tribunal who do not comply with the identity verification requirement would result in the tribunal being required to dismiss the matter. Applicants who fail to comply with the identity verification requirement in judicial review proceedings would require leave of the court to continue proceedings. Proceedings which are dismissed for failure to comply with the requirement would be able to be reinstated where appropriate.
The bill contains a range of other efficiency amendments, including to enable the president of the ART to authorise registrars to exercise additional powers, including to dismiss and reinstate applications in more circumstances; require the government to consider additional advice from the president when considering whether to reappoint an ART member, including in relation to operational needs of the ART; greater flexibility for a salaried tribunal member to become a sessional member or vice versa with appropriate safeguards; clarify when certain documents need to be provided to the ART; and timeframes for seeking review for certain decisions.
The bill reflects the ongoing commitment of this government to ensuring the tribunal and Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) procedures and operations are robust and can effectively respond to significant caseload pressures. The measures in the bill will enhance tribunal efficiency, avoid delay and ensure that decisions can be made in an effective and timely manner.
The government will not be supporting the second reading amendment from the member for Kooyong. The government maintains that this bill is appropriately balanced and targeted to support a more efficient and effective tribunal. The DEPUTY SPEAKER ( Ms Fernando ): I thank the Attorney-General.
The original question was that this bill now be read a second time to which the honourable member for Kooyong has moved an amendment—that all words after that be admitted with a view to substituting other words. The immediate question is that the amendment be agreed to. Question negatived.
Bill read a second time. Ordered that this bill be reported to the House without amendment.