A huge backlog of asylum claims may incentivise unworthy applications, advocates say.

The Refugee Council of Australia has made a submission to the government’s migration review that says asylum seekers are facing delays of more than two years for the home affairs department to assess their claims.

If they seek a review, they will join a backlog of 38,000 cases - or six years worth - in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

The council is calling for a one-off amnesty for 30,000 asylum seekers that were found not to be owed protection but made workforce contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The council says new claims are being made to the AAT faster than the tribunal can hear them. 

Late last year, the Federal Government axed and promised to replace the AAT, inclluding $63.4 million over two years to appoint 75 extra members to deal with its case backlog.

“The combined backlogs at the [department] and the AAT have created a circumstance where it is possible for people (or traffickers using people) to lodge asylum applications even when they may not have meritorious claims for protection, as they can stay in Australia for years while their application slowly passes through the system,” the Refugee Council’s submission states. 

“If refugee applications are considered in a well-resourced, prompt and orderly system, there would be no incentive for those who are not refugees to lodge an asylum application.”

The Law Council of Australia also made a submission, which similarly warns of “chronic backlogs” in visa processing that it says “impede expeditious entry of migrants into Australia, are a disincentive to skilled migrants, and prevent migrants in Australia from being able to work”.