Visa Refusals & ART Reviews
Time-limited and serious. If your visa has been refused or cancelled, or you have received a notice of intention, act quickly. Review periods are short and strictly enforced.
A refusal or cancellation is not automatically the end of the road, but review rights come with deadlines measured in days, not months, and those deadlines cannot be extended. The first thing to establish is whether a review right exists at all, and by when it must be exercised.
We review the decision record, explain what the decision-maker relied on, and. Where review is available. Prepare and present your application to the Administrative Review Tribunal.
If you have received a refusal, cancellation or a notice of intention to consider cancellation, please contact us as soon as possible.
How we help with visa refusals & art reviews
- Confirm whether a review right exists and the exact date it expires
- Obtain and review the decision record and the reasons given
- Prepare and lodge applications to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART)
- Prepare written submissions and organise supporting evidence
- Represent you at the Tribunal hearing
- Respond to notices of intention to consider cancellation (NOICC)
- Respond to natural justice invitations to comment before a decision is made
- Advise on requests for Ministerial intervention where appropriate
Visas in this category
Expand any option below for who it suits and what it involves. These summaries are general. Your own eligibility depends on your circumstances.
Applications for merits review of a visa refusal or cancellation decision, where a review right exists.
Who it may suit
- Applicants whose visa has been refused and who hold a review right
- Visa holders whose visa has been cancelled
- Sponsors and nominators with review rights in their own name
Key points
- Review periods are short, strictly enforced and cannot be extended
- The Tribunal re-decides the case on its merits, on the evidence before it
- New evidence can usually be presented at review
- Most applicants attend a hearing
- Outcomes include affirming, setting aside or remitting the decision
Responses to a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation, before a cancellation decision is made.
Who it may suit
- Visa holders who have received a NOICC
- Students facing cancellation for attendance or progress issues
- Workers facing cancellation for a condition breach
Key points
- You are given a limited period to respond in writing
- A well-evidenced response is your opportunity to prevent cancellation
- The response should address each ground raised in the notice
- Supporting evidence and personal circumstances can both be relevant
- Failing to respond generally leads to cancellation
Responses to a Department invitation to comment on adverse information before a decision is made.
Who it may suit
- Applicants who have received a request to comment on adverse information
- Applicants asked to address a specific concern in their application
- People facing a potential adverse finding on character or genuineness
Key points
- A considered response before the decision is far better than a review afterwards
- The response should address the specific information raised
- Corroborating evidence carries more weight than assertion alone
- Deadlines are set out in the invitation and are enforced
Requests asking the Minister to exercise a personal public-interest power after review options are exhausted.
Who it may suit
- People who have exhausted merits review
- Applicants with genuinely unique or compelling circumstances
- Families facing exceptional hardship
Key points
- The power is personal, non-compellable and rarely exercised
- Generally only available after a Tribunal decision
- Requests must demonstrate unique and exceptional circumstances
- There is no review right if the Minister declines to intervene
Not sure where you stand?
Book a consultation and get an honest assessment of your options, including the ones that are not open to you yet, and why.
Initial consultations are by appointment, in person in Punchbowl or by video anywhere in Australia and overseas.
- Registered migration agency. MARN 2619475
- Honest assessment, including when a pathway isn't open
- Written quote before any work begins
- In person in Punchbowl, or by video Australia-wide