Tribunals

Within the Australian legal system, in addition to the courts, a number of tribunals have been set up under State and Commonwealth Acts. A tribunal is a generic term for any body acting judicially, whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title. Tribunal means a court, administrative agency or quasi-judicial entity. Tribunals are created by Statutes which determine what cases they can hear. 

Tribunals are not courts of normal jurisdiction. As tribunals are created by statute, they can only review matters which are specified by the relevant Act of Parliament. However, their powers are very broad and encompass all aspects of the decision. 

There are a number of Commonwealth and State Tribunals. The major Commonwealth Tribunals are:

• Administrative Appeals Tribunal: The Administrative Appeals Tribunal is a body which provides independent review of a wide range of administrative decisions made by the Australian Commonwealth government and some non-government bodies.
• Migration Review Tribunal: The Tribunal is an independent merits review body established under the Migration Act 1958 and its jurisdiction, powers and statutory procedures are set out in that Act and the Migration Regulations 1994. The criteria for visas and provisions relating to the cancellation of visas, business sponsors and the points system are contained in the Act and various regulations made under the Act.
• National Native Title Tribunal: The Tribunal is a Commonwealth Government body that facilitates the making of agreements among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, governments, industry and others whose rights or interests may co-exist with native title rights and interests. The Tribunal is not a court and does not decide whether or not native title exists.
• Refugee Review Tribunal: The Tribunal reviews individual decisions made by the Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs concerning refugees in Australia.
• Social Security Appeals Tribunal: People who believe that a wrong decision has been made in relation to their social security, education or training payment can appeal to the Social Security Appeals Tribunal. The Tribunal is also able to review some decisions made by officers of the Department of Veterans' Affairs.

Sometimes there is only one body to which an appeal can be directed. In other cases, the decisions of these tribunals can be appealed to a higher tribunal, which is generally a tribunal that hears a wider range of matters. Tribunals tend to be more informal than courts, and tend to be quicker and have more cost effective procedures.