Visa Refusals & Appeals

VISA REFUSAL / CANCELLATION APPEAL

ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW TRIBUNAL (ART)

Appeals

If your Australian visa application has been refused or stands cancelled, you have a chance to appeal this decision and get it reviewed by ART (Administrative Appeals Tribunal). When your visa has been rejected, ART has the power to evaluate the original decision and inspect whether the applicant fulfils all the requisite conditions.

Any applicant or holder of an Australian Visa whose visa stands cancelled or refused can apply for merits review by ART, provided he/she is eligible. Most onshore applications qualify for this review, including some offshore applicants in which the sponsor is onshore. The appeal to ART must be lodged within 21 days. However, the time-frame may differ depending on the way you were informed of this decision and the type of decision. If you fail to apply for the appeal timely, you lose your right to get the decision reviewed.

What will happen after review?

The review tribunal will make one of the following decisions:

Affirm

This is when the ART  agrees with the department’s decision to cancel or refuse your visa and so the decision that the department has made will stand.

Set Aside

The Department’s decision, meaning the ART has the view that the decision should be changed. The ART may replace (substitute) the decision with a new decision.

Remit

The Department’s decision, meaning the ART has the view that the decision must be reconsidered. The department is required to reconsider the application having regard to the directions made by the ART.

No Jurisdiction

Meaning the ART had no power to review the departments’ decisions.

What are my options if my appeal fails at ART?

If the outcome of ART review is ‘Affirm’, then you have 2 options further:

Application to Federal Court:

This is when you believe there has been a Legal Error in the decision by the department and ART.
You can write a request to the minister for his personal discretion to grant you visa. 

You need to have a good reason or case for the minister to intervene in your case.

Application for Ministerial intervention:
You can write a request to the minister for his personal discretion to grant you visa. You need to have a good reason or case for the minister to intervene in your case.