The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has warned unaddressed processing backlogs at Australia’s Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) risk eroding public confidence in the nation’s asylum system.
The warning was made to a parliamentary inquiry reviewing the performance and integrity of Australia’s administrative review system.
The AAT is responsible for reviewing certain visa decisions made by the Department of Home Affairs or government ministers and is considered a crucial appeals process for migrants and refugees.
In its submission to the inquiry, the UNHCR said protracted processing of claims risked resulting in asylum seekers waiting several years for a determination on their claim "without meaningful access to rights."
"For some, it will likely lead to a deterioration of physical and mental health over time, for which concessions and accommodations will need to be made," its submission said.
"Importantly, unaddressed processing backlogs will erode public confidence in Australia’s asylum system."
it has been under-resourced to deal with its backlog of tens of thousands of migration and refugee cases.
The review body had 32,064 refugee cases on hand as of 30 June 2021, according to its latest 2020-21 annual report.
There is concern the tribunal’s caseload of asylum seeker cases has continued to increase with this now outstripping the general migration cohort (23,972) by more than 8,000 cases.
Over the most recent reporting period, this included the AAT receiving 10,521 lodgements relating to asylum cases in 2020-21, but only finalising 5,558 cases.
Migrant advocates say the process is critical to ensuring errors resulting from a "high volume" of decisions made by the Department of Home Affairs are reviewable by an independent body.
“This is especially important in case of refugee claims, when matters of life and death are under consideration,” the Refugee Council of Australia said in its submission.
“The AAT can provide a critical safeguard against forced return to danger by helping to ensure accuracy and fairness in decision-making.”
In its latest annual report, AAT president David Thomas conceded the tribunal was "not sufficiently resourced to substantially reduce'' the backlog of cases.
The tribunal further addressed these concerns in its latest submission to the inquiry.
“The AAT’s budget and the appointment of the members who undertake the reviews of government decisions are ultimately a matter for Government,” its submission said.
“Within this context, the AAT strives to continually improve how it delivers effective and efficient review services and to promote public trust and confidence in its decisions.”
The submission said its workload had increased significantly in the period from 2015–16 to 2019–20, particularly in the Migration & Refugee Division.
“The increasing backlog of cases in the Migration & Refugee Division has led to a decrease in timeliness and increasing processing times for applicants, its submission said.
This included the percentage of cases finalised within 12 months declining steadily from 66 per cent in 2016–17 to 20 per cent in 2020–21, according to the submission.
In its submission, the UNHCR recognised efforts by the AAT to provide “high-quality merits review” on decisions and praised “continuing efforts” to address its backlog of cases.
But the Refugee Council of Australia and Refugee Advice and Casework Group have raised concerns about the impact of prolonged processing times on those awaiting appeals.
In its submission, the Refugee Council of Australia warned the AAT was being “significantly under-resourced”, contributing to its backlog of cases.
“This backlog is not only due to under-resourcing of the AAT, but also due to the lack of expertise from some AAT members,” it said.
“These issues need urgent attention in order to restore integrity, public trust, and the rule of law to the AAT."
In its submission, the Attorney General’s department said the AAT provides an important function in the Australian community.
“It is an independent statutory body established to provide an independent merits review process that is fair, just, economical, informal and quick,” it said.
“AAT members are either experienced in legal matters, have skills in decision-making or are experts on particular subject matter.”
As at 12 November 2021, the AAT comprised 112 full-time members and 201 part-time members, the department said.
The Morrison government provided an additional $18.9 million over forward estimates in additional funding towards supporting the Migration and Refugee division in its most recent budget.
In its submission, the Refugee Advice Casework Service said it was common for its clients to wait for between two to four years for a decision on their appeals.
“Prolonged wait times have significant impacts on applicants for protection visas who are highly vulnerable and have in many cases been exposed to serious trauma,” its submission said.
“This uncertainty feeds into and exacerbates existing anxiety and mental health concerns.”
