 The Administrative Appeals Tribunal, or AAT, reviews decisions made by Australian government ministers and departments and other organisations under Commonwealth laws. We aren't able to review all decisions, only those where the law specifically states that we can. The decisions the AAT most commonly reviews relate to child support, family assistance and social security, visas, the NDIS, taxation, veterans entitlements and workers' compensation for employees covered by Commonwealth laws. We are independent of the personal department that made the original decision and we aim to make our review process accessible, fair, just, economical, informal and quick. When we review a decision, we take a fresh look at the facts, law and policy relating to that decision. We can also look at new information that was not available to the original decision-maker. We then have the power to affirm the decision, meaning it isn't changed, vary the decision, set aside a decision and substitute a new decision or remit a decision to the original decision-maker to be decided again. You can apply for review online at our website, by email, fax or post, or in a few types of cases by phone. For some types of reviews, there is an application fee. After we receive your application, we tell the department that made the decision that you want a review. They then send us a copy of all the relevant documents. They will also send copies to you and any other party, except in most migration and refugee cases. In these cases, you can apply to us to send you a copy of the documents for your case. The next steps in the review process vary depending on the type of decision we're reviewing. In some cases, we write to you to ask for further information. Wherever possible, provide any information you want the AAT to consider as early as possible. Sometimes we hold a conference or a directions hearing to talk to you and any other party about the case. And in some cases, we list the case directly for a hearing. At a hearing, you will have the opportunity to present your case to the AAT member assigned to decide your review. The amount of time it takes us to complete a review varies from case to case. You can ask us about this. You don't need to have a lawyer or other representative at the AAT, but you can choose to have one. Depending on the type of decision being reviewed, this could be a lawyer, migration agent, tax agent, or veteran's advocate. You can also ask a family member or friend or another person, such as a disability advocate, to represent you or support you during the review. In many Centrelink and child support cases, the AAT's permission is required for a person to represent you. All information given to us for the purpose of a review is handled in accordance with the Australian Privacy Principles and other legal requirements. We'll give you information about who we usually collect information from and who we usually give it to, including if some information might become public. Hearings in some types of cases are held in public. Hearings in many Centrelink, child support and refugee cases are private. Our privacy policy explains how we handle information and is available on our website. You can find more information about the AAT by watching the other videos in this series. Visiting our website, aat.gov.au, or phoning us, on 1800 228 333. Please note that AAT staff can help you with questions you have about our processes, but we cannot give you legal advice about your application.