The tribunal that allows refugees, veterans and welfare recipients to challenge government decisions has been burdened by a vast increase to its workload, new figures show.
The administrative appeals tribunal is an important part of the federal justice system, allowing the most vulnerable to challenge administrative decisions made by government.
That includes migrants and refugees who have had a visa denied or cancelled, welfare security recipients who have been issued a debt, or veterans who have been ruled ineligible for support.
A total of 6,581 matters were lodged with the AAT in 2014-15, which increased 600% to 41,432 in 2015-16, largely as a result of its amalgamation with several other tribunals. But the increase to its workload continued last financial year.
It had 51,426 matters lodged in 2016-17, an increase of 24%. The number of cases finalised and still ongoing also increased by significant amounts.
One tribunal source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the increase in workload had not been accompanied by increases to resources. The source warned the new caseload, when matters began to reach hearing, would place a significant burden on the tribunal.
“It usually takes even with accelerated matters, six to nine months to take matters into a hearing,” the source said. “So we haven’t had too many of them in hearings before the tribunal yet.
“But the flood is coming down the pipeline, as it were.”
The growth is largely driven by migration and refugee cases, which account for 52% of the total cases lodged last financial year and 71% of the matters on hand.
Ben Lumsdaine, a solicitor with the Refugee Advice and Casework Service, said delays in the tribunal were worsening and had stretched out beyond six to nine months for a hearing.
“A lot of the matters for our clients have taken a lot longer than that,” he said. “It is quite variable but it’s not unusual for it to take longer than that.
“It seems like the waiting time has been increasing.”
Appeals against national disability insurance scheme decisions have also quadrupled in a year, placing additional weight on Australia’s already overloaded administrative appeals tribunal system.
The number of appeals against NDIS decisions rose from 46 in 2015-16 to 186 the following year, according to the national disability agency’s annual report.
The AAT cases largely relate to decisions to deny access or not fund certain support services for people with a disability.
The increase in appeals is explained by the rapid rise in the number of NDIS participants, from 30,281 in 2015-16 to 90,638 the next year.
“As the number of NDIS participants increases, it is not unreasonable to also expect growth in related activities,” a National Disability Insurance Agency spokeswoman said.
“These activities include new access and planning decisions, routine scheduled reviews, as well as complaints and/or appeals. As the roll out of the NDIS progresses, the NDIA will continue to put the best outcomes for participants at the core of our decision-making.”
NDIS cases are a fraction of the tribunal’s workload. But the tribunal source said the NDIA often fails to invest enough resources into running its cases, making them more difficult to deal with.
“We’ve had a disproportionately large number of [NDIS] appeals to the tribunal,” the source said. “And they show every sign of not coping very well with the influx in applications for support.
“On a number of occasions, to be frank, the NDIA has not adequately resourced themselves for the matters that have come before the tribunal. They’ve been all over the shop.”
