David Shoebridge (NSW, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

The earlier changes can apply to protection visas; this particular part can't apply to protection visas.

The government is claiming these changes are needed for efficiency; however, the Immigration Advice and Rights Centre pointed out this in its submission:

… the Bill sacrifices the objectives of being fair and accessible for alleged efficiency

When you look at the bill more closely, the problem with the delays and the increased backlog in the ART—which is real—is not the result of the way in which oral hearings are happening; it's not the result of that part of the ART's structure. The problem is twofold. One is that this government has failed to appoint enough tribunal members for the ART to be at full strength and able to deal with it. That's pretty shameful. The ART is wildly understrength, and no doubt we'll explore this next week in estimates. The last time I looked they were some 200 members short of what their full appointment should be.