The Administrative and Judicial Review Legislation Amendment Bill 2026 has been introduced into the House of Representatives by the Attorney-General. The Bill proposes a series of amendments to the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024, the Migration Act 1958, and several related pieces of legislation, aimed at refining how the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) and courts handle reviews of migration and other decisions.
Proposed changes include:
- Registrars will be given clearer authority to dismiss and reinstate applications where there is no reasonable prospect of success.
- The 28-day period for the Tribunal to provide reasons or documents will now exclude the Christmas/New Year period (24 December to 14 January), giving the Tribunal more effective working time. An exception applies to certain visa cancellation reviews under section 501.
- Amendments clarify when errors in registrar decisions can be corrected, particularly where the original decision-maker is unavailable.
- The President and Deputy Presidents of the ART will now be formally assigned to every jurisdictional area.
- New provisions allow the basis of a non-judicial member’s appointment (salaried or sessional) to be changed by the Governor-General, following advice from the President on performance, conduct, and operational impact.
- Changes clarify approved application forms, confirm the ART’s ability to permit examination and cross-examination of witnesses, and introduce new rules around notices of decisions and reasons including a framework for the ART to make decisions orally, with a written record required within 14 days.
- For a defined list of decisions relating to social security, veterans’ affairs, the NDIS, and aged care, the Tribunal will be required to always provide a statement of reasons.
- A new identity verification process is introduced for certain migration and protection decision reviews, applicable to applicants not in immigration detention. Applicants who fail to meet identity verification requirements may have their applications dismissed, both at the ART and in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2).
- New requirements ensure the Secretary is notified when applications are dismissed under specific circumstances.
If passed, most provisions would commence the day after Royal Assent, though some, including the identity verification and approved forms provisions, commence on a date fixed by Proclamation, with a six-month backstop if no Proclamation is made.
Click here: Administrative and Judicial Review Legislation Amendment Bill 2026
