Minister commends review bodies report

The latest reports from the Residents Review Board and the Removal Review Authority highlight consistent service in a productive year, Immigration Minister David Cunliffe said.

"The Boards' annual reports for the 05/06 financial year are testimony to the hard work and progress of these independent decision-making bodies," he said.

"The Residence Review Board's (RRB) annual report shows the Board is significantly increasing its decision-making rates while continuing to provide quality of service to its appellants," David Cunliffe said.

"The report shows an impressive 52% increase in decisions made compared to the previous financial year – a total of 635 decisions were made.

"In addition to this, appellants are receiving a faster service. The average age of an RRB appeal in June 2006 was four months, compared to 10 months a year earlier.

"The RRB has also made significant progress in decreasing its backlog of outstanding appeals.

"RRA decisions have remained consistent for a number of years, which is why their work in the last year to improve decision-making times by nearly two months is even more impressive.

The Residence Review Board is tasked with considering residence appeals arising from Department of Labour decisions, while the Removal Review Authority's role is to consider appeals by people who are unlawfully in New Zealand and are required by the Department to leave.

"The Immigration Act review currently underway is looking at the structure of immigration appeal bodies and how they could be made even more effective. The input and support of both the RRB and RRA are invaluable in this endeavour," he said.

ENDS

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