Migration Act 1958 Direction under section 499 Refugee Review Tribunal Streamlining Measures (Direction No. 16 of 1999) (Cth)

MIGRATION ACT 1958

DIRECTION UNDER SECTION 499

REFUGEE REVIEW TRIBUNAL

STREAMLINING MEASURES

WHEREAS:

Part 7 of the Migration Act 1958 (the Act) provides that certain protection visa decisions are reviewable by the Refugee Review Tribunal (the Tribunal), establishes the Tribunal and deals with aspects of the Tribunal's operations.

The Act provides for review "on the papers" in appropriate circumstances and deals with procedures to be followed in those cases where review "on the papers" is not appropriate.

Section 420 of the Act provides that the Tribunal, in carrying out its functions, is to pursue the objective of providing a mechanism of review that is fair, just, economical, informal and quick.

The Government evaluated the effectiveness and efficiency of immigration review tribunals and considered various options for decision making procedures and structures for review. The Government determined that changes to the system were warranted and legislation has been passed to effect these changes.

The Government is determined to give the Principal Member of the Tribunal such guidance and assistance as can be given under (the auspices of) the Act to improve the Tribunal's decision making systems and productivity and to assist the Tribunal in meeting its objective.

The Government is particularly concerned that delays in the review system lead to extra burdens on community resources and contribute to uncertainty on the part of applicants. The Government's view is that it is particularly important that genuine refugees are identified quickly and processed expeditiously and that the review system does not operate in such a way that people are encouraged to lodge unfounded applications in order to benefit from delays.

The Government has determined that guidance and assistance should be given to the Tribunal in relation to those cases where review "on the papers" is not appropriate to better enable the Tribunal to meet the requirements that the Tribunal's mechanism of review be quick and economical.

NOW:

I, Philip Ruddock, the Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs, acting under and subject to section 499 of the Act, hereby give the following Direction.

1.      This Direction may be cited as Direction No. 16 of 1999.

2.      This Direction applies to all members of the Tribunal.

3. Bearing in mind the need to ensure that the operations of the Tribunal are economical and as quick as practicable, and consistently with sections 425 and 426 of the Act, when advising applicants of their right to appear before the Tribunal to give it evidence, members should give due consideration to advising applicants that, in the absence of good cause for non-attendance at the time and place notified for any hearing, the Tribunal may proceed to a decision without further delay.

4. In order to reduce the delays associated with personal hearings and with the personal appearance of witnesses, and consistently with sections 425, 426, 427 and 428 of the Act, members should give due consideration to making greater use of alternative ways of obtaining evidence such as statutory declarations, written arguments and the use of authorised persons to take evidence.

5.      Members should give due regard to the desirability of making ex tempore decisions in the circumstances indicated by the Principal Member in any practice direction.

6.      In deciding the order of processing, weight is to be given to the Government’s view that applications for review of protection visa decisions should generally be processed in the following order and consistently with section 460(3):

FIRST            Applications from applicants in detention, from applicants claiming to have been subjected to torture or other serious trauma and from applicants in receipt of Asylum Seeker Assistance.

SECOND      Applications from sur place applicants. The international political scene can be a volatile place where events occur without warning. In some cases a person may have been in Australia for some time when their home country experiences domestic upheaval.

THIRD            Applications from applicants who are most likely to benefit from lengthy processing times.

FOURTH      All other applications.

7.      Consistently with section 460(4), members should act in accordance with any guidelines issued by the Principal Member relating to the order of processing applications for review.

8.      This Direction is to take effect from the date of signature.

Dated this 1st day of June 1999.

PHILIP RUDDOCK

Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs