The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) has recently published its annual report, confirming the trend that lodgements of review applications in the Migration & Refugee Division continue to grow at a record rate. During 2018-19, over 36,000 applications were lodged, more than double the number lodged 3 years ago, and there are approximately 60,000 applications awaiting processing.

Unfortunately, based on current resources at the AAT, this means that waiting times are only likely to increase. The average time to finalise a review application is now 68 weeks.

It is also interesting to note the outcome of AAT decisions. During 2018-19, only 30% of decisions were overturned by the AAT and remitted to the Department of Home Affairs for further processing. The balance were affirmed (35%) by the AAT, withdrawn (22%) or otherwise did not proceed.

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