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1. Introduction
2. Contents
3. 1. Principal Member’s Report
4. 2. Registrar’s Report
5. 3. The role of the Tribunals
6. 4. Performance Report
7. 5. Management and accountability
8. 6. Financial statements
9. Appendices
   1. 1: The Tribunals’ Plan
   2. 2: Statements of Expectations
   3. 3: Service Charter
   4. 4: Members of the Tribunals
   5. 5: Member Code of Conduct
   6. 6: Additional staffing statistics
   7. 7: Freedom of Information
   8. 8: Disability action plan
   9. 9: Compliance index
   10. Glossary

Appendix 3: Service Charter

The Migration Review Tribunal and the Refugee Review Tribunal provide a final and independent merits review of visa-related decisions made by the Minister for Immigration and Citizenship (the Minister) and by officers of the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (the Department) acting as delegates of the Minister.

The Tribunals are established under the Migration Act 1958. The Principal Member is the chief executive officer and is responsible for the overall operation and administration of the Tribunals. The Members are persons appointed by the Governor-General for fixed terms, and the Tribunals are normally constituted by a single Member when dealing with a particular case. Registry staff perform a wide range of services and deal with most case and other enquiries.

Persons who are dissatisfied with a relevant decision of the Minister or a delegate initiate a review by lodging an application for review with the relevant Tribunal.

In conducting reviews, the Tribunals are required to provide a mechanism of review that is fair, just, economical, informal and quick. The Tribunals can fully reconsider a case and can replace a decision under review. Proceedings in relation to protection (refugee) visa matters are always held in private while hearings in relation to other matters may be open to the public. There is a requirement to publish decisions of particular interest. Any decision which relates to a person who has applied for a protection visa is published in a way that does not identify the persons involved.

This service charter expresses our commitment to providing a professinal and courteous service to review applicants and other persons with whom we deal. It sets out what our service standards are, and how to make suggestions or complaints.

Communicating with us

We have offices in Sydney and Melbourne which are open between 9.00am and 4.30pm on working days. There is no need to make an appointment to make an inquiry, lodge an application, or lodge other documents. If you are invited to a hearing, you will be notified of the time and place of the hearing in advance. Our offices are wheelchair accessible and hearing loops are available in hearing rooms. The contact details for our offices are:

Our national inquiry number is 1300 361 969. This number is available from anywhere in Australia, except from mobile telephones. Calls are charged at the cost of a local call. If you need assistance in your language, you may contact the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS) on 131 450 for the cost of a local call. An interpreter will then help you contact us.

You may lodge letters, forms, documents and submissions in person, by post, or by facsimile. There is no requirement for a copy of documents sent by facsimile to also be sent by post, unless you are submitting original documents or certified copies of documents (such as birth certificates, marriage certificates or educational qualifications).

Further information about our operations and procedures, and application forms and other forms can be obtained from one of our offices or from www.mrt-rrt.gov.au.

Our service standards

We aim to make timely and lawful decisions and treat with courtesy, respect and dignity all those with whom we deal.

We will:

• be helpful, prompt and respectful when we deal with you;
• use language that is clear and easily understood;
• listen carefully to what you say to us;
• acknowledge applications for review in writing within 2 working days;
• include a contact name and telephone number on all our correspondence;
• help you to understand our procedures;
• provide information about where you can get advice and assistance;
• engage interpreters for hearings, where required;
• attempt to assist you if you have special needs;
• provide written reasons when we make a decision;
• publish and adhere to guidelines relating to the priority to be given to particular cases;
• publish the time standards within which we aim to complete reviews;
• abide by the Australian Public Service Values and Code of Conduct (staff); and
• abide by the Member Code of Conduct (Members).

You have a right to:

• courteous and professional service;
• a fair hearing;
• information about the progress of your case;
• information about our procedures;
• seek advice and assistance from another person (with very limited exceptions, a person must be registered as a migration agent to provide advice and assistance);
• request access to your case file and to an audio recording of a hearing;
• have personal information handled confidentially in accordance with the law;
• have any complaint dealt with fairly and quickly; and
• be informed of further appeal rights.

It is important that you:

• let us know immediately of any change in your contact details;
• tell us if your circumstances change;
• quote your file number in all your dealings with us;
• reply to correspondence accurately, thoroughly and in a timely manner;
• let us know if you need an interpreter; and
• treat our Members and staff with courtesy.

Suggestions and complaints

We would welcome and value any comments or suggestions you may make on the standard of our service or on this charter. If you have been pleased with your dealings with us, or you think that we can improve our service, please let us know. Written suggestions or comments can be forwarded to:

If you are not satisfied with how we have dealt with a matter or with the standard of service you have received, and have not been able to resolve this by contacting the office or officer dealing with your case, you may forward a written complaint marked ’confidential’ to:

We will acknowledge receipt of a complaint within 5 working days. We will fully investigate all complaints and provide a written response as quickly as possible. Anonymous complaints can be made, but this may limit our capacity to investigate and respond to the complaint.

We report on the number and type of complaints received, and how we have dealt with them, in our Annual Report.

Anyone who has a complaint about an Australian Government agency which he or she has been unable to resolve can make a complaint to the Commonwealth Ombudsman. The Ombudsman has an office in every State and Territory and there is a national contact number (1300 362 072). Further information is available at www.ombudsman.gov.au.

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