Reference no: EM133578138

In 2023, the Commonwealth is introducing and developing significant administrative review changes, including the establishment and commencement of the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the announcement that the Administrative Appeals Tribunal will be abolished and replaced with a new federal administrative review body.

In April 2023, the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department released the 'Administrative Review Reform: Issues Paper' which sought public responses to 67 questions about a wide range of matters relating to the new federal administrative review body. The published responses are available online.

What emerged from a number of the submissions was a need for administrative review mechanisms in Australia to be more accessible and designed to empower applicants in light of imbalances between government agencies and users, particularly those applicants who experience marginalisation or experience significant disadvantage.

You are a legal researcher at Macquarie University and you have been asked by the Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department to provide advice on how Australian formal merits review mechanisms can be improved to increase accessibility and ensure transparency and fairness for marginalised Australians. You may choose to focus on a particular marginalised group or discuss these issues for general application to all marginalised groups. The Law Council's Justice Project is a great place to start in considering which marginalised group or groups you will consider.

You will draft a policy brief for the Government which sets out your recommendation/s for specific legislative reform needed to ensure that the new federal administrative review body is able to meet the abovementioned needs (to improve formal merits review in the new Commonwealth tribunal). It is recommended that you consider the existing Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 (Cth) as a reference for the previous model, to identify any gaps that can be addressed in the new legislation. You will need to specifically identify where and how your recommendation/s should be legislated.

EFFECTIVE POLICY-WRITING - WHAT IS A POLICY BRIEF?

Policy briefs are a form of researched and supported advice that can have real-world implications. They can play a central role in public and government affairs and lead to policy and legal developments and change.

A policy brief a concise report that is well-researched which examines a particular/singular issue or problem, with a particular audience in mind. This could be law-makers, a government decision-maker, an advocacy group, the media, or a corporation. Your emphasis should be on clarity and succinctness, writing with a view to persuading your reader to adopt your message and give effect to your supported recommendations for policy or legal change.

Your audience

Who are they? What will they likely already know about the area? What new information should be highlighted, to provide insight into the issue?

Use language suited to and appropriate for your audience, and structure your brief logically so that it is easy to follow. Use headings to assist your audience to quickly find what they're looking for, and so they can understand the development of argument throughout.