Processing Times

How long will the tribunal take to make a decision on my case?

 The time taken by the Migration Review Tribunal or the Refugee Review Tribunal (the tribunal) to make a decision on your case will depend on a range of factors including the type of case and when your case is given to a tribunal member to conduct the review.

The following table gives a guide as to how long it may take based on actual processing times for a recent six month period.  The table shows average and median processing times from lodgement to decision by case category for that time period. This table will be updated every three months.

Processing times for decisions made between 1 October 2011 and 31 March 2012

			Calendar days from lodgement to decision
	Case category	Decisions	Average	Median	70th percentile
	Bridging refusal	137	15	9	11
	Visitor refusal	341	161	160	191
	Student refusal	1259	494	532	654
	Temporary business refusal	276	638	711	806
	Permanent business refusal	109	516	524	745
	Skill linked refusal	318	484	496	680
	Partner refusal	609	532	521	753
	Family refusal	296	529	515	767
	Student cancellation	453	223	242	274
	Sponsor approval refusal	86	702	756	835
	Protection visa	1384	175	148	188
	Other	239	429	288	617

Note:  The average is the sum of all processing days divided by the number of cases processed. The median is the middle value of days, that is, the number of processing days which half of the cases exceeded and which half of the cases fell below. The table also shows the number of days within which 70% of lodgements within each case category were decided by the tribunal in this period (the 70^th percentile).

Timeframes in the table are a guide only and you should not rely on them to make plans.

When will my case be given to a tribunal member?

Cases are allocated to members according to priorities set by legislation and in directions issued by the Principal Member. For a list of priorities see Principal Member Direction Caseload and Constitution Policy. While cases are generally allocated in priority and date of lodgement order, cases may from time to time be allocated as part of a taskforce or targeted approach. Such allocations enable batches of cases raising similar issues to be dealt with more efficiently and allow the tribunals to deal with a greater volume of cases than would otherwise be the case. News about these initiatives will be made available here. 

What happens once my case is with a tribunal member?

Once a case has been allocated to a member, the member will decide how to proceed with the review. For information about the review process and ways you can help ensure your case is handled efficiently see Principal Member Direction Efficient Conduct of Reviews.

Why do cases take so long?

The tribunals have experienced very high levels of lodgements in recent years and have many applications for review. This has impacted on processing times and may continue to do so for some time to come. It is important to note that the time taken to make a decision on your case depends on a number of factors, including when you lodged your application for review, the total number of applications lodged with the tribunals in the same period, the type of decision to be reviewed, the complexity of the case and the average processing time for that type of review.

Can I apply for priority?

You may write to the Principal Member requesting that your case be considered for priority constitution.  Information about how to do this is on our website (Information about the Tribunal Procedures for Review Applicants). However please note the tribunals receive many requests for priority for constitution and not all requests are successful.

How many applications are there?

Information about monthly application lodgements, decisions and cases on hand is available in statistics. A glossary explaining the case categories used in the table is available here.