The Administrative Appeals Tribunal applied the controversial Ministerial Direction 99 to overturn half of the government’s initial deportation orders for non-citizens on character ground since July last year.
The statistic was revealed in a senate estimates hearing held on Friday afternoon by the AAT’s registrar Michael Hawkins as the government faces a backlash over the application of the direction which was issued by Immigration Minister Andrew Giles in January 2023.
The directive has been tied to several cases where non-citizen criminals had their visa cancellations revoked, rather than be deported.
Of the 367 cases to which the AAT applied Direction 99 in this financial year, the body “set aside” 184 cases, rejecting the government’s initial decision. Approximately 100 further cases applying the direction are expected before June 30.
In the previous financial year, 459 cases were heard applying Direction 99, of which 212 were set aside.
Asked by Coalition Senator Paul Scarr about the morale of AAT members following “attacks” by the prime minister and immigration minister, Mr Hawkins said some would be “hurting” from the decisions they had made over visa cancellations.
“From my own experience, I can say that you own the decision because you had uppermost in your mind whether you were denying someone the opportunity to come into Australia who should genuinely be here, but their case wasn’t sufficient,” Mr Hawkins told senate estimates.
“You would be concerned that that person could be gunned down on their return to their own country.
“We do worry about it. And the members who have been referred to in the press about decisions they’ve made, which have been made in accordance with their oath, and with the practice and procedure of a member, they would be wearing it and they would be hurting.”
The Tribunal, an independent body, reviews a wide range of administrative decisions made by the federal government under Commonwealth law, including on migration matters.
Among those who have had their visa cancellations overturned by the AAT are a New Zealand man who was convicted of raping his stepdaughter, a British man who attacked women on 26 occasions, and a Sudanese man who allegedly committed murder.
In response to the AAT’s ruling, Mr Giles accused the body of failing to apply a “commonsense approach” in its interpretation of the direction, and claimed it had not granted adequate attention to community safety.
But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese went a step further, blaming the Coalition for stacking the body with party members and other political allies.
“If you’re a former Liberal councillor somewhere who’d lost preselection, chances are you could put your hand up and get a guernsey on the Administrative Appeals Tribunal,” Mr Albanese said.
Earlier this week, the Albanese government passed legislation which abolished the body, creating a new independent umpire, the Administrative Review Tribunal, which will have a merit-based appointments process, rather than government-appointed members.
Meanwhile, Mr Albanese has resisted calls to sack Mr Giles from the portfolio.
“Andrew Giles is the Immigration Minister, I’m the Prime Minister, and I have no intentions of making changes imminently,” he said.
“I know there’s a campaign being run by Peter Dutton. I say this: if Peter Dutton held himself to the same account that he wishes other ministers to be held, then he wouldn’t have lasted in that portfolio for a week.”