WA Administrative Review Tribunal Replaces Administrative Appeals Tribunal; State Mutual Recognition Laws Match Commonwealth Rules

Commonwealth Administrative Laws Amendment (Updating References) Bill 2026

10 Jun 2026: MPs in the first house are debating whether this bill is a good idea in principle.

Legislative Assembly

Legislative Council

Assent

Share this bill

Email Facebook X Bluesky

Topics

administrative law administrative review court procedures environmental protection gene technology government accountability government appeals healthcare marine safety maritime safety public health reproductive technology taxation therapeutic goods water efficiency +10 more

Links to official parliament websites

Official page: progress through parliament

Effects of this bill

If this bill passes, it means that:

The Administrative Review Tribunal replaces the Administrative Appeals Tribunal as the body responsible for reviewing decisions under several laws, including those covering water efficiency labelling, gene technology, human reproductive technology, sports drug testing, and agricultural and veterinary chemicals in Western Australia.
The Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024 replaces the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975.
The definition of a decision follows the meaning set out in the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024.
The definition of 'Commonwealth administrative laws' is updated across multiple Acts--including those covering corporations, competition policy, marine safety, and therapeutic goods--to include the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024.
The Administrative Review Tribunal handles reviews for decisions made under the Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel National Law Application) Act and the Therapeutic Goods Law Application Act.
The bill updates the Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition (Western Australia) Act and the Mutual Recognition (Western Australia) Act to align with Commonwealth laws regarding mutual recognition of professional registrations and business standards.

The Debate

What different members said when this bill was debated:

Dr Tony Buti ALP

“I move: That the bill be now read a second time. The Commonwealth Administrative Laws Amendment (Updating References) Bill 2026 will make consequential amendments across the Western Australian statute book to reflect the establishment of the new Commonwealth Administrative Review Tribunal.”

Official source →