Release of new tribunal application forms
New versions of the M1, M2 and R1 application for review forms were released on 16 January 2012. This has followed an extensive review that included internal and external consultation, the engagement of a professional form designer and external/internal usability testing.
The old versions of the forms (dated July 2011) have been removed from the tribunal website but can be accepted by the tribunals until 30 June 2012.
All three new forms are in an electronically fillable format, which means that data can be entered and saved into the forms prior to printing. The forms are accessible on the Forms and brochures page.
While the forms can be completed and saved electronically they must be printed and lodged in paper copy.
If you are having problems electronically filling in or saving the forms please check the FAQ’s. The forms can still be printed and completed by hand if needed.
Important: Do not delay lodging your application for review. You must lodge your application within the time limit specified in the letter from Department of Immigration and Citizen which notified you of the decision you want reviewed.
Review of Stakeholder Engagement Plan 2010-2011
The tribunals are currently reviewing their 2010-11 Stakeholder Engagement Plan and welcome community feedback. The Plan is available from the tribunals’ website here. Comments on the 2010-11 Plan can be sent to MRT-RRT.Communityliaison@mrt-rrt.gov.au by COB Friday 2 March 2012. This feedback will be used to inform the development of a new stakeholder engagement plan for 2012-14. If you have any queries about the review please contact Juliet Carnevale, Director Policy and Coordination, on tel (03) 8600 5822.
Stakeholder Survey 2012
The tribunals are conducting an external stakeholder survey in the first half of this year. Stakeholders to be surveyed include review applicants, interpreters, and migration agents and/or advisers. The survey, to be independently conducted by Buchan Consulting, will allow the tribunals to gauge perceptions of its performance across a range of criteria and will assist in future strategic planning. At the end of the process the results will be published on the tribunals’ home page.
FOI changes on the MRT-RRT website
A new FOI webpage is now available on the MRT-RRT website. The FOI webpage can be accessed through a new ‘Freedom of Information’ menu tab on the homepage.
A new ‘FOI Disclosure Log’ icon has also been added to the homepage for direct access to the disclosure log. There have been some minor amendments to the ‘FOI Disclosure Log’ webpage.
MRT and RRT application fee changes
Changes to MRT review application fees and post-decision fees for unsuccessful RRT applications announced in the 2011-12 Budget came into effect on 1 July 2011. Changes to MRT fee waivers (now fee reductions) and fee refunds also came into effect on 1 July. To view a summary of the changes please click click here.
RRT Information Sessions for Refugee Week 2011
NSW
The New South Wales Registry of the Refugee Review Tribunal will be hosting open information sessions on Friday 24 June. Visitors will be able to gain an insight into the operations of the Refugee Review Tribunal. A staged hearing will be held, with presentations and panel discussions by the Deputy Principal Member, Tribunal Members, Legal Services, Country Advice and Registry staff. Information about the Tribunal’s caseload and processes will be available and staff will be on hand to answer any questions. Two sessions will be run, in the morning (10am-12pm) and afternoon (2pm-4pm). Please RSVP to refugeeweek2011@mrt-rrt.gov.au indicating which session you would like to attend. Light refreshments will be provided.
VIC
The Victorian Registry of the Refugee Review Tribunal will be hosting open information sessions on Monday 20 June. Visitors will be able to gain an insight into the operations of the Refugee Review Tribunal. A staged hearing will be held, with presentations by the Deputy Principal Member, Tribunal Members, Legal Services, Country Advice and Registry staff. Information about the Tribunal’s caseload and processes will be available and staff will be on hand to answer any questions. Two sessions will be run, in the morning (10am-12pm) and afternoon (2pm-4pm). Please RSVP to refugeeweek2011@mrt-rrt.gov.au indicating which session you would like to attend. Light refreshments will be provided..
Issues Paper - Caseload and Constitution Policy
Principal Member Direction 1/2010, which contains the Tribunals’ current Caseload and Constitution Policy, took effect on 15 July 2010 and is now being reviewed. An Issues Paper has been prepared which is intended to identify areas of possible change in the constitution policy for 2011-12 and inform discussion as part of the review process. Comments are welcome, and may be provided by email to MRT-RRT.CommunityLiaison@mrt-rrt.gov.au by 5pm on Monday 16 May 2011.
Tribunals' Plan 2011-2013
The tribunals have released the Tribunals’ Plan 2011-2013. The Plan outlines the tribunals’ commitment to delivering consistent, high quality reviews and decisions, and the strategies and actions which will support this. It sets out the tribunals’ organisational purpose and values, and how we will measure performance. Feedback on the Plan is welcome, and can be provided online.
Publication of a revised Tribunal Service Charter
The Tribunal would like to thank those who provided comments on the Tribunals’ Service Charter. The charter has been revised and updated and is available in an online format. The new charter clarifies the complaints process and for the first time provides a mailbox address, complaints@mrt-rrt.gov.au for the Tribunals to receive complaints from clients electronically.
Draft Information Publication Scheme Plan
Reforms to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) introduce a new Information Publication Scheme (IPS) and require agencies to publish a broad range of information on their websites. The IPS commences on 1 May 2011. Each agency must publish a plan showing how it proposes to meet the requirements of the IPS. Please take the time to read the Tribunals’ draft publication plan. The plan is available for comment until 15 April 2011. Comments should be made to: enquiries@mrt-rrt.gov.au
FOI Reforms – Information Publication Scheme
Reforms to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) introduce a new Information Publication Scheme (IPS) and require agencies to publish a broad range of information on their websites. The IPS commences on 1 May 2011. Please take the time to read the detailed outline of the IPS.
MRT-RRT Annual Report 2009-2010 update
An html version of the MRT-RRT Annual Report 2009-2010 has been added to the Publications page.
STUDENT TASK FORCE IN VICTORIA
From December 2010, the Tribunals will be establishing a task force to deal with student refusal cases in the Victorian registry. The task force will consist of 2 to 3 members who will work exclusively on recently lodged student refusals for a period of up to 6 months.
The task force is not expected to impact significantly on the allocation of other cases, which will continue to be allocated across the membership consistently with existing case priorities. Other task forces may be established in other locations to deal with other caseloads.
RRT 90 Day Report - 1 March to 30 June 2010
On 16 November 2010, the Principal Member's Report pursuant to s.440A of the Migration Act on the conduct of Refugee Review Tribunal reviews not completed within 90 days, for the period 1 March to 30 June 2010 was tabled in Parliament.
Under s.440A of the Migration Act 1958, the Principal Member must give a report to the Minister every 4 months containing information about each decision reviewed by the RRT during the reporting period but decided outside 90 days and each RRT review over 90 days but undecided at the end of the reporting period. The report must include the reasons why decisions were not reviewed within the 90 day period.
The 1 March to 30 June 2010 report showed a pleasing improvement in the timeliness of RRT reviews. The percentage of cases decided within 90 days increased from 68% to 74% compared with the previous reporting period and average days to decision reduced from 99 to 95 days.
MRT-RRT Annual Report 2009-2010
The MRT-RRT Annual Report 2009-2010 was tabled in Parliament on 16 November 2010. A PDF version of the report is available on the Publications page . An html version of the report will be added shortly.
FOI Reform
Reforms to the Freedom of Information Act 1982 (the FOI Act) and the passage of the Australian Information Commissioner Act 2010 introduce substantial changes to FOI processing and publication of information. FOI requests lodged on or after 1 November 2010 are subject to these changes. Please take the time to read the detailed outline of the changes.
Electronic copy of documents to MRT applicants
In relation to requests for access to documents held by the Migration Review Tribunal pursuant to s.362A of the Migration Act 1958, the Tribunal is now able to provide an electronic copy of documents to applicants (or their representatives) by means of compact disc (CD).
The Form M16 Request for access to documents held by Tribunal has been amended to allow applicants or their representatives to choose the option of receiving an electronic copy of their documents on CD. The form is accessible under the Forms and Brochures button on the left side of the screen.
Complaints and Compliments
New content has been added to the Complaints and Compliments page and the contact details updated.
Processing Times Calculator
A processing times calculator is now available on the MRT-RRT website. Users can enter a review application date (real or hypothetical) into the calculator and choose a decision type from a list of common case categories. The calculator will provide an estimate of the length of time within which a decision is likely to be made based on the time within which 70% of Tribunal reviews involving that type of case were completed during the previous 6 months.
Updated MR2 Immigration Assistance fact sheets
The MR2 Immigration Assistance fact sheets have been updated to reflect the current names and contact details of legal and community based organisations that provide immigration and other assistance to migrants and asylum seekers. The MR2 fact sheets also provide information about ‘immigration assistance’ and migration agents. There are two versions of the MR2 fact sheets. The New South Wales version provides contact details of relevant organisations in New South Wales, Queensland, Northern Territory and Australian Capital Territory and the Victorian version provides contact details of relevant organisations in Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania. The updated MR2 factsheets are available under ‘Forms and Brochures’ on the left side of the screen.
Principal Member Direction 1/2010 - Caseload and Constitution Policy
On 15 July 2010, the Principal Member signed Principal Member Direction (PMD) 1/2010. PMD 1/2010 replaces PMD 1/2009 and sets out the Tribunals' caseload and constitution policy for 2010-11. The principal objectives of the caseload and constitution policy are to:
- give priority to cases based on the circumstances of individual applicants;
- enable time standards to be met;
- deliver high quality reviews;
- ensure independence and impartiality in decision-making;
- ensure the fair and equitable allocation of cases to Members; and
- achieve a reduction in the number of MRT cases on hand.
Introduction of précis email alert service
précis - the MRT- RRT Monthly Bulletin summarises a selection of recently published Tribunal decisions and Country Advice; selected summaries of High Court, Federal Court and Federal Magistrates Court judgments; legislation updates; and an overview of MRT and RRT caseload for the preceding month.
The Tribunals have established an alert service that will notify subscribers by email as new issues of précis are published on the MRT-RRT website. The service is available to applicants, representatives, students and the general public.
Please visit the MRT-RRT Monthly Decisions Bulletin page if you would like to subscribe.
RRT 90 Day Report - 1 November 2009 to 28 February 2010
On 16 June 2010, the Principal Member's Report pursant to s.440A of the Migration Act on the conduct of Refugee Review Tribunal reviews not completed within 90 days, for the period 1 November 2009 to 28 February 2010 was tabled in Parliament.
Under s.440A of the Migration Act 1958, the Principal Member must give a report to the Minister every 4 months containing information about each decision reviewed by the RRT during the reporting period but decided outside 90 days and each RRT review over 90 days but undecided at the end of the reporting period. The report must include the reasons why decisions were not reviewed within the 90 day period.
Refugee Week 2010: 20 – 26 June 2010.
The Refugee Review Tribunal is holding open days during Refugee Week:
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Melbourne: Registry Open Day - Monday 21 June, 2.30pm to 4.30pm - Level 12, 460 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne.
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Sydney: Registry Open Day - Friday 25 June - Level 11, 83 Clarence Street, Sydney (close to Wynyard Station).
For information about other events during Refugee Week, visit www.refugeecouncil.org.au.
Gender Guidelines
On 10 May 2010, the Principal Member issued the Tribunals’ Gender Guidelines. The objectives of the guidelines are to further promote a gender inclusive and gender sensitive review process and recognise the social and cultural difficulties applicants face when making and presenting gender-related claims.
Stakeholder Engagement Plan for 2010-11
The Tribunals value our relations with stakeholders and hold regular community liaison meetings. We are encouraging a greater level of stakeholder involvement through the implementation of our Stakeholder Engagement Plan for 2010-11. The objectives of the Plan are to:
- enable better access to justice in the conduct of merits review of migration and refugee decisions by improving our communication with stakeholders and the information we provide about the Tribunals’ procedures;
- inform our strategic direction, policy and operations through an improved understanding of our stakeholders’ perspectives and needs; and
- shape the Tribunals’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviours through communication with our stakeholders.
Revised Guidelines on Referral of Cases for Ministerial Intervention
Following the re-issue of the Minister’s intervention guidelines in 14 September 2009, the Tribunals revised its guidelines on the referral of cases for consideration under the Ministerial intervention guidelines. See Tribunal Policy and Procedures Guideline TG 1/2010 Referrals for Ministerial Intervention. It replaces TPPG 1/2009 with effect from 4 February 2010.
Principal Member Direction 2/2009 - Putting Adverse Information Orally to Applicants
Principal Member Direction 2/2009 is now available. It replaces Principal Member Direction 3/2007, with effect from 24 November 2009.
Principal Member Direction 1/2009 - Caseload and Constitution Policy
Principal Member Direction 1/2009 is in effect from 31 July 2009.
Publication of daily list of MRT and RRT hearings
From 24 September 2009 the Tribunals have published a daily list of MRT and RRT hearings on this website. The lists are available from the 'Hearings' button on the home page.
MRT hearings are open to the public unless the Presiding Member decides that a hearing or part of a hearing should be conducted in private in the public interest. RRT hearings are not open to the public and information which may identify an RRT applicant cannot be disclosed.
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