Take three minutes with us. Understanding these changes protects your application.
The Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) began operating in October 2024, replacing the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). The Migration and Refugee Divisions continue with the same statutory review powers, but the operational reset has produced several changes that affect how migration matters are conducted.
The statutory tests applied on review are unchanged. The ART, standing in the shoes of the Minister, re-decides applications for review on the merits and can affirm, vary, set aside, or remit a decision for reconsideration. What has changed is the case-management culture. The ART has published a set of practice directions emphasising early identification of issues, active case management, and greater use of directions hearings to narrow the matters in dispute before final hearing.
Filing deadlines from a notification of decision remain critical — most migration decisions carry a 21 or 28 day window, and those windows are strict. Late applications require an extension of time, which the Tribunal grants only in limited circumstances. If you have received a refusal or cancellation notice, calculate the deadline from the date of notification rather than the date on the letter, and treat weekends and public holidays with care — the day of receipt itself is not counted.
The transition has also affected hearing scheduling. The ART inherited a large caseload from the AAT and is prioritising older matters, particularly refugee applications that have been pending for more than two years. Newer migration matters — Partner refusals, character cancellations, general skilled refusals — are being listed on a rolling basis with mixed timeframes, and applicants should not assume the pre-transition scheduling patterns still hold.
Fees for migration merits review are also unchanged in nominal terms, but a reduction is available for eligible applicants in financial hardship, and a full refund is available if the review is successful. The refund policy is one of the more under-used features of the system — applicants who succeed on review sometimes forget to claim, and the Tribunal does not automatically process refunds.
The most consequential change for applicants is probably the emphasis on written submissions. The ART expects a clear articulation of the review grounds early in the process, with reference to the statutory criteria the primary decision was said to have breached. Applicants without representation often struggle at this step, and the quality of the initial submission has a large influence on how the Tribunal frames the hearing.
Individuals with a refusal or cancellation notice should not delay obtaining representation; statutory response times are short and the strongest arguments are usually the ones developed first. AMSA has a dedicated review practice and can act on urgent matters within the day of instruction.