Labor’s rushed legislation inflicts impossible deadlines and fees on people seeking just outcomes through the ART

MEDIA RELEASE:

ASRC lawyers will give evidence today against legislation that inflicts impossible and rigid application deadlines and exorbitant fees on refugees, people seeking asylum and migrants seeking just outcomes through the new Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). ASRC’s evidence will be heard from 2 pm – 3pm today as part of a Senate inquiry into the Administrative Review Tribunal (Miscellaneous Measures) Bill 2024, ahead of the ART’s official commencement date on October 14. Watch the hearing live.

Refugee law specialists have been clear that for the new ART to be successful in remedying the previous Tribunal’s legacy of unfair and unlawful outcomes, the Bill must ensure the new review mechanism is fair and accessible to people already facing significant challenges, such as language barriers, trauma, separation from support networks and being subjected to the conditions of immigration detention. 

The new legislation will instead compound additional challenges by demanding people in immigration detention meet strict seven-day deadlines to lodge a review application, including providing mandatory information and documents, and in certain circumstances paying a prohibitive fee of $3,496. 

People who are outside of immigration detention will have 28 days to meet these rigid application requirements, with no opportunity to extend the timeframe regardless of any compelling circumstances.  For people who are victim-survivors of family violence, experiencing homelessness and/or physical and mental health issues, the inflexible timeframe and high lodgement fee will be an insurmountable barrier to accessing a review before the new Tribunal.  

ASRC’s evidence will draw from its submission provided this week to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee, which details key aspects of the new legislation that must be amended to ensure roadblocks to justice are removed and that all people have access to a fair process through the ART, including:

• A rigid seven-day application deadline for people in immigration detention, compared to 28 days for other applicants. This is insufficient time for people in detention to digest complex legal documents and engage legal service providers for assistance.
• Imposing new requirements for only refugees, people seeking asylum and migrants to provide certain information and documents for their review application to be valid, and to pay an upfront fee of $3,496 for lodging a migration review – an impossible ask for people, especially for those in detention currently without work rights and isolated from support networks.
• There is currently no discretion for the new Tribunal to permit an extension for applications and flexibility regarding providing information and payment of fees, even in compelling and exceptional circumstances such as when experiencing family violence, language barriers, insecure housing and employment or serious mental or physical illness.

Quotes attributable to:

Jana Favero, ASRC’s Deputy CEO –
‘’The Albanese Government created the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) to remedy the unfairness and poor, politicised decision making at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA).

“It defies logic and principles of fairness for the newly created ART to continue to treat refugees and people seeking asylum differently and with a separate set of rules. Time and time again people seeking asylum have told us that one of the most important things is to be treated fairly. This is a missed opportunity for fair, accessible structural reform.”

Rachel Saravanamuthu, ASRC’s Legal Policy Lead
“There is no valid justification for refugees, people seeking asylum and migrants being denied the same rights as other applicants before the new Tribunal. The consequences of being denied access to seek review of unlawful decisions are significant and life-changing, including indefinite detention, permanent family separation and being deported to countries where people face serious harm and persecution.” 

Betia Shakiba, Refugee Advocate from Iran
“Having witnessed my family’s struggle for the past 13 years, it is deeply disheartening to see history repeating itself despite government promises for a fairer system. What we are seeing in this Bill is not fair to refugees. The system must be accessible and acknowledge the long-term impacts on people’s lives.

“It’s been over 13 years since we came to Australia, yet my mother and husband are still navigating the cruel remnants of past systems. The best course of action would be for the government to compensate for past neglect, but instead, we are witnessing a different narrative unfold. These systems are not just laws; they have tangible effects on real people’s lives and mental health.”

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