Additional Comments - Coalition Senators

1.1The Coalition thanks stakeholders for their submissions and supports the passing of the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025.

1.2The Bill largely implements Coalition policy and re-establishes a fast-track on-the-papers process similar to the Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA), which Labor abolished. This is a backpedal by the government to address its repeated and ongoing failures on immigration, and the complete failure of the ART to manage its workload. The Bill is a recognition that the IAA model was effective, as the provisions of this Bill mirror what was abolished by the government.

1.3The Coalition expresses its disappointment over the extraordinary move by the committee Chair to move the tabling of the report forward from the reporting date of 24 November 2025. While the government is increasingly facing calls for greater transparency, this move showcases a continued push towards secrecy and a clear rebuke of the principles of open government.

1.4After almost two years of rhetoric and senseless re-branding, the Labor Government has finally admitted that the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) never needed to be abolished and that fast-track 'on-the-papers' review is essential to restoring confidence in our administrative law system.

Key comments include:

1.5When Labor scrapped the AAT and replaced it with the ART, it claimed the old system was slow, politicised and unfit for purpose. Yet one year later, the new ART is slower, more expensive, and facing the largest backlog in its history, irrespective of its iteration.

1.6The caseload of the Tribunal has ballooned from about 67,000 matters when the Coalition left office, to more than 111,000 today. The median time to finalise a case has stretched from 30 weeks to 68 weeks. That is not reform. That is regression.

1.7Labor spent millions re-branding a tribunal that already worked, dismissed experienced members, and left Australians waiting twice as long for justice.Labor’s plan was nothing more than a political witch hunt.

1.8When the former Attorney-General announced the new ART in 2022, he promised a body that would 'restore trust' and 'speed up decisions'.Instead, we have an institution that is overwhelmed by work and facing significant pressure with staff shortages.

1.9This Bill is Labor's secret confession that their grand plan has been an unmitigated failure.

1.10It is an emergency patch to deal with the tens of thousands of unresolved cases that are now choking the Tribunal, especially in the student-visa stream, where appeals have risen from about 2,000 to more than 32,000 in just seven years. These student visa lodgements as a percentage of total Tribunal lodgements, have risen from 9.1 per cent in 2018–19 to 38.6 per cent in 2024–25.

1.11When the Coalition introduced fast-track 'on-the-papers' reviews through the IAA, Labor condemned the model and pledged to abolish it. Now, under pressure from stark cold reality, Labor has quietly adopted the Coalition's approach.

1.12The Coalition welcomes these changes because they mirror what we have long argued for: efficient, proportionate, and practical review processes that focus resources where they are most needed.

1.13The Coalition supports measures that make our review system faster, fairer, and more efficient. The measures in this Bill provide proportionate, responsible reform. By embracing 'on-the-papers' review, the Tribunal can direct its limited resources to matters that genuinely need oral examination, while resolving simpler disputes promptly. It will lead to greater efficiencies of resources for the ART, in staffing, members and Tribunal rooms.

1.14While the Coalition supports the Bill, it remains cautious about its delegation of power to expand 'on-the-papers' reviews by regulation rather than by legislation.Any future extension beyond student and temporary visas should be subject to clear consultation, transparency and disallowance. Parliament, not the Executive, should decide when the right to an oral hearing is limited.

1.15The Coalition queries the necessity of Recommendation 2, as it is unclear whether the Bill needs to be amended for the purpose of Division 4A of the Migration Act1958 as per paragraph 1.20 of the report.

Other comments:

1.16The Coalition opposes the early tabling of the report in the most strenuous terms, especially considering government cuts to Opposition staff. Timing must be afforded to committee members to accommodate additional comments to allow for proper oversight.

1.17Senators and committee members work hard to secure appropriate reporting dates for inquiries, which are often the result of negotiated outcomes between all parties. This is considered best practice. The push to report early is without justification and goes against what was directed by the Senate.

1.18Coalition senators are concerned that unilaterally moving agreed upon reporting dates sets a dangerous precedent that risks good governance and undermines public trust.

Senator Leah Blyth

Deputy Chair