Refugee Status Appeals Authority

The New Zealand Refugee Status Appeals Authority or RSAA, was an independent authority that heard the appeals of people who had been declined refugee status by the Refugee Status Branch of the New Zealand Immigration Service. It was established in 1991, and was replaced by the Immigration and Protection Tribunal in 2010. New Zealand established the RSAA as part of its responsibility to uphold the right of asylum as a result of being a signatory of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the . The decisions of the RSAA are not binding, but have had a significant impact on refugee jurisprudence.

The RSAA was composed of a Chairperson and 24 Members (part-time and full-time), all of whom were either legal practitioners or retired judges. The most high-profile case adjudged by the RSAA was that of Ahmed Zaoui, whose appeal was eventually successful.

The RSAA was created under the prerogative powers of the New Zealand Executive (Cabinet) in 1991. The RSAA was later given statutory authority on October 1, 1999 in the Immigration Amendment Act 1999. The RSAA’s jurisdiction allowed the body to hear and decide any appeal by a person who had been declined refugee status by a Refugee Status Officer (RSO). The RSAA also made decisions regarding direct applications, cancellation of refugee status when the Refugee Convention may have no longer applied, and when recognition of refugee status should cease due to attaining refugee status by forgery, false or misleading information or concealment of relevant information.

The authority was established to work as an independent appellate body. The RSAA was headed by the Chairman who had the discretion to appoint people to hear appeals as he saw fit. The Immigration Act stated the Chairperson “is responsible for making such arrangements as are necessary or desirable to ensure the orderly and expeditious discharge of the functions of the Authority.”

The RSAA was governed by sections 129N – 129Z of the Immigration Amendment Act 1999. The two main functions were: “to hear appeals brought under section 129O from determinations by RSO’s not to recognise a claimant as a refugee”; and “to make determinations in relation to a person's refugee status on applications made by RSO’s under section 129L(1)(f)."

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