The Tribunal consists of staff and members. Staff are employees of the Australian Public Service and members, the people who hear and decide cases, are statutory office holders. 

The organisation is led by the President, who is responsible for managing the business of the Tribunal and ensuring we operate efficiently and effectively in line with our objectives.

By law, the President must be a Judge of the Federal Court.

The President is supported by several Deputy Presidents. Some Deputy Presidents are also judges. All members, including the President and Deputy Presidents, are appointed by the Governor-General.

Our Chief Executive Officer and Principal Registrar oversees the administration of the Tribunal, including the corporate and registry services that support the review process.

We manage reviews across eight areas of practice, each led by an experienced jurisdictional area leader:

• General
• Intelligence and Security  
• Migration  
• National Disability Insurance Scheme 
• Protection 
• Social Security 
• Taxation and Business  
• Veterans’ and Workers’ Compensation.

We handle similar types of cases through ‘lists’ within each jurisdictional area. ‘List’ is the name we give to sections of the Tribunal that hear and decide specific types of cases.

The Honourable Justice Emilios Kyrou AO was appointed the inaugural President of the Administrative Review Tribunal on 14 October 2024. He was appointed as a Judge of the Federal Court of Australia on 8 June 2023 and as President of the former Administrative Appeals Tribunal on 9 June 2023. 

From 2014 to 2023, Justice Kyrou was a Judge of Appeal of the Victorian Court of Appeal. From 2008 to 2014, Justice Kyrou was a Trial Judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria, where he was one of the judges in charge of the Supreme Court’s Judicial Review and Appeals List. From 1990 until 2008, Justice Kyrou was a senior litigation partner in the international legal firm that is now known as King & Wood Mallesons, where he specialised in administrative law and insurance law. 

Justice Kyrou commenced his legal career in 1983 as an articled clerk at the firm that is now known as Corrs Chambers Westgarth and was a partner of that firm from July 1988 until July 1990. 

Justice Kyrou was born in Greece. His family migrated to Australia when he was 8 years of age. 

Justice Kyrou was an inaugural member of the Judicial Council on Diversity and Inclusion. He is the patron of the Australian Greek Welfare Society (‘Pronia’) and the Victorian patron of the Hellenic Australian Lawyers Association. 

Each of our jurisdictional areas (JA) is headed by a Jurisdictional Area Leader (JAL), appointed by the Attorney-General. The Attorney-General may appoint the President or a non-judicial deputy president as a JAL for more than one JA. 

The table below contains a list of our JAs and lists within those areas, and the responsible JAL.

The position of Chief Executive Officer and Principal Registrar is a statutory officer appointed by the Governor-General.

The Principal Registrar assists the President to manage the administrative affairs of the Tribunal and is: 

• the Accountable Authority under the Public Governance, Performance and Accountability Act 2013 
• the agency head for the purposes of the Public Service Act 1999. 

Mr Michael Hawkins AM was appointed Principal Registrar of the Tribunal on 14 October 2024.

He was the Registrar of the former Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) from 14 April 2022 to 13 October 2024. Prior to this, Mr Hawkins served as a part-time member of the Migration and Refugee Division of the AAT, working primarily in the protection caseload, from May 2016. 

Mr Hawkins has had a career in private and public roles spanning more than 40 years. After attaining a Bachelor of Laws (Honours), Mr Hawkins worked in private legal firms for 10 years, including 6 years as a Partner of two Brisbane firms. In 1994, Mr Hawkins moved into roles within the film industry including as CEO and Director of Australian Multiplex Cinemas Ltd, the National Association of Cinema Operators – Australasia and as a Board Member of Screen Queensland and Screen Australia and as Chair of the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. He has been a Board Member or Councillor of many charitable and community organisations.

Mr Hawkins was admitted to practice as a solicitor in the Supreme Court of Queensland and the High Court of Australia in 1986. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and is the Honorary Consul for Sweden in Queensland. He was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia in the Australia Day Awards in 2021 for significant service to the film and television industry, and to screen content.

Our diverse group of members have expertise in accountancy, disability, law, medicine, migration, military affairs, public administration, science and social welfare.

Our table of statutory appointments provides a full list of our members, their dates of appointment, location, and their jurisdictional areas.

• Statutory Appointments [PDF, <1 MB]
• Statutory Appointments [.xlsx, <1 MB]

The President and Principal Registrar are assisted by the following people who hold office as senior executives in the Australian Public Service:

The Tribunal Advisory Committee is chaired by the President and consists of the Principal Registrar, jurisdictional area leaders, and other members or staff as nominated by the President.

The Committee’s functions include:

• promoting the Tribunal’s statutory objectives
• promoting the training, education and professional development of members
• overseeing the Tribunal’s caseload, including any trends, patterns or systemic issues that arise
• reviewing the Tribunal’s performance, including finances
• advising the President and Principal Registrar on any issues, including performance standards, practice directions, and code of conduct matters.