Tribunal (migration review)
Statutory definition
The Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024 (Cth) established the ART as a single federal administrative review tribunal, absorbing the former AAT (including its migration and refugee functions) from 14 October 2024.
Explanation
References in legislation, court decisions, and published materials to the Migration Review Tribunal (MRT), the Refugee Review Tribunal (RRT), and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) Migration and Refugee Division all refer to functions now exercised by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART).
Decisions made by the MRT, RRT, and AAT before the ART's establishment on 14 October 2024 retain full legal effect. Applications lodged with those former bodies and not yet decided were transferred to the ART.
The ART's Migration and Refugee Division retains the same jurisdictional scope as its predecessors: it reviews visa refusal and cancellation decisions, protection visa decisions (refugee review), and certain sponsorship decisions.
How this term is used
When reading case law and practice notes predating October 2024, references to the MRT or RRT should be understood as references to the review function now exercised by the ART (Migration and Refugee Division). For character cancellation matters (mandatory cancellations under s 501(3A)), no tribunal review is available — ministerial intervention under s 501CA is the only administrative recourse.