Processing
An application is processed and investigated at first instance, at the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner.
An authorised officer interviews the applicant and investigates the backround to the application.
He or she then produces a ‘Section 13’ Report on the application which includes a recommendation to the Minister either that the applicant should, or should not, be granted refugee status.
You are entitled to legal advice and have a legal advisor at the hearing although the advisor may not intervene.
It may take a period of three months or more for the interview to be held, from the time of application. but the current waiting time is decreasing.
All documentation supporting your identity and your claim should be brought with
you.
