Issue No.7/August 2018 The Review contains news about the AAT and summaries of decisions of interest. The AAT understands some subscribers who received this edition of The Review experienced technical issues with 'Read more' links that were redirecting to the homepage of the AAT's website. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused. This re-issue of the August edition has resolved that problem. All links will now direct to the correct content on the website. Scheduled Review underwayThe Hon Ian Callinan AC QC, former Justice of the High Court of Australia, is currently undertaking a scheduled statutory review of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). The review comes three years after the Migration Review Tribunal, Refugee Review Tribunal and Social Security Appeals Tribunal were amalgamated with the AAT. Section 4 of the Tribunals Amalgamation Act 2017, which was the legislation that provided for the amalgamation, required a review to look at the effect of the changes brought on by the amalgamation. The Hon Christian Porter, Attorney-General, appointed Mr Callinan to undertake the review on 27 July 2018. Relevant submissions could be made to the Reviewer by 24 August 2018 and the AAT has made a submission. Mr Callinan will provide his report to the Attorney-General and the Government by 31 October 2018. The Attorney-General published the terms of reference for the review, which sets out a list of issues the review should consider. View the full list on the Attorney-General’s website. Decisions publication target on trackThe AAT published more than 4,000 of its decisions in 2017-18, making us one of the highest volume publishers of decisions among courts and tribunals in Australia. We are continuously looking for ways to improve the transparency of our decision-making and we have made further amendments to our decisions publications policy. Does the AAT consider victim impacts in character-related visa decisions?The AAT considers the impact on victims of crime when it is relevant to the matter under review and when information is made available. The Minister’s representative is responsible in the first instance for providing information to the AAT about impacts on victims. In certain cases, the AAT must consider the impact on victims, such as when reviewing character related visa decisions. These summaries are prepared by AAT staff to provide insight into the types of decisions we make and why the decisions are made. For the complete facts and reasons, please view the full written decisions on AustlII. Decision summaries are routinely uploaded to the AAT website. Below are the summaries uploaded over the last month. Child SupportWolford and Fendi (Child support) [2018] AATA 2406 The applicant claimed the amount of child support she was paying was unjust and inequitable because of the income, property, financial resources and earning capacity of her former partner. The AAT affirmed the decision not to change the child support payable. Freedom of InformationButler and Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (Freedom of information) [2018] AATA 2668 The applicant submitted a Freedom of Information request to the CSIRO for the release of certain documents related to the testing of ionisation smoke alarms. The AAT affirmed the original decision to refuse the request. Migration & Refugee1509054 (Refugee) [2018] AATA 2239 The Department of Immigration and Border Protection refused the applicant's Protection visa. The applicant claimed to fear returning to Algeria because he no longer believed in Islam and extremists in his local area would target him. The AAT affirmed the decision. 1702934 (Refugee) [2018] AATA 2085 The Department of Immigration and Border Protection cancelled the applicant’s Protection visa because they believed he had given incorrect answers on his visa application. The applicant listed his citizenship as Afghani but the Department found that the applicant was a Pakistani citizen. After reviewing the applicant’s evidence and country information reports, the AAT set aside the original decision to cancel the visa. L E Dias Electrical Contracting Pty Ltd (Migration) [2018] AATA 1778 The Department of Immigration and Border Protection refused the business' nomination of an accountant for a Subclass 457 visa because they were not satisfied the position was genuine. The AAT affirmed the decision. National Disability Insurance SchemeFurminger and National Disability Insurance Agency [2018] AATA 1872 The applicant requested access to the NDIS for a number of conditions. The NDIA found that the applicant did not meet all of the relevant criteria for access to the NDIS, and decided not to grant access to the scheme. The AAT affirmed the NDIA’s decision. Section 501 - The character TestNDRW and Minister for Home Affairs (Migration) [2018] AATA 2144 The Department of Home Affairs cancelled the applicant's Refugee visa because he did not pass the character test due to his substantial criminal record. The applicant was sentenced to more than three years in prison in total. The AAT affirmed the decision. . Veterans' entitlementsLong and Repatriation Commission (Veteran’s entitlements) [2018] AATA 1841 The applicant claimed a pension for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, alcohol use disorder and depressive disorder because he believed they were connected to his military service. The AAT concluded the applicant suffered from different conditions to those he claimed, and they were not connected to his military service. The AAT varied the original decision. The AAT Bulletin is a weekly publication containing information about recently published decisions and appeals against decisions in the AAT’s General, Freedom of Information, National Disability Insurance Scheme, Security, Taxation & Commercial and Veterans’ Appeals Divisions. The Bulletin also regularly includes a sample of decisions recently published in the AAT’s Migration & Refugee Division and Social Services & Child Support Division. What do you think? Write to us at Communications@aat.gov.au to provide editorial suggestions and feedback. |