Appeals Tribunal Secretariat

Provides administrative and secretarial support to the Immigration Appeals Tribunal and the Refugee Protection Appeals Tribunal (RPAT) for the processing of:

• Appeals under the Immigration (Transition) Act; and
• Appeals under the Customs and Border Control Act

Matters Handled

The Coordinator and the Secretaries of the Appeals Tribunal Secretariat provide Administrative and Secretarial support to the:

• Immigration Appeals Tribunal (IAT)

with the processing of appeals against the decision of the Director of WORC or the Director’s designate under Sections 37, 49 or 56(5) or of a Board other than a decision under Section 20 of the Act.

• Refugee Protection Appeals Tribunal (RPAT)

with the processing of appeals against the decision of the Director of Customs and Border Control to refuse asylum.

The majority of the documents held by the Appeals Tribunal Secretariat are exempt under section 23(1) of the FOI Act and the Data Protection Act, as releasing applications, minutes and outcomes of meetings and other reports would amount to an unreasonable disclosure of personal information. Individuals have a statutory right under the FOI Act and Data Protection Act to view their own personal information held by public authorities, and such information may be released to a third party if there is overriding public interest in the disclosure, but FOI or Personal Data requests must be made for these records in all cases and the Information Manager will make a decision on each application.