Any person who wishes to appeal against a Commonwealth Government administrative action or decision should first read the Act or Regulations under which the decision was made or action was taken. This will usually outline any rights of appeal given to the citizen and the grounds of any rights of appeal. There is no general rule; some Acts give wide rights of appeal, others have only narrow grounds of appeal and some Acts give no right of appeal at all.

A large number of appeals are heard (either at first instance or as part of a graduated appeal process) by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).