Visa Appeals
Visa Refusal Review
A visa refusal has a 28-day deadline. Once it passes, the right of merits review is generally extinguished. Most onshore refusals are reviewable at the Administrative Review Tribunal, and fresh evidence is admissible at the hearing. Visa Plan Lawyers represents applicants across nomination, partner visa, student visa, and other refusal categories.
What the ART reviews
The Tribunal conducts merits review. It is not a court. It does not test only whether the Department's decision was lawful; it considers afresh whether the visa should be granted, on the basis of all material before it. Fresh evidence is generally admissible. Witnesses can be called. Country information can be tendered. The Tribunal can substitute a different decision or remit the matter to the Department with directions.
The Department is a party at every stage of the proceeding, represented by experienced solicitors. An unrepresented applicant carries the same evidentiary and procedural burden as a represented one, without legal training or familiarity with Tribunal practice.
Refusal categories
Each visa category carries its own evidentiary and procedural considerations on review. The pages below cover the most frequently encountered refusal types.
Nomination refusal
A nomination refusal blocks the linked employer-sponsored visa. Standing on review generally rests with the sponsoring employer, with the 28-day window applying.
Partner visa refusal
Partner visa refusals turn on the genuineness, exclusivity, and continuing nature of the relationship. Family violence provisions and PIC 4020 findings carry specific evidentiary considerations.
Student visa refusal
Student visa refusals commonly fail on Genuine Student grounds, financial capacity, or PIC 4020. The 2026 amendments will move student visa refusal review to a paper-based process when proclaimed.
Common refusal grounds
The grounds for refusal vary by visa subclass, but five categories recur across the program.
Eligibility criteria
Failure to satisfy the prescribed criteria for the visa subclass — for example, insufficient relationship evidence on a partner visa, failure to meet skills assessment on a skilled visa, or inadequate financial capacity on a student visa.
Public interest criteria
Failure to satisfy health, character, or security requirements that apply across visa programs (PIC 4001 character; PIC 4007 health; PIC 4020 fraud or false documents).
Genuineness assessments
Assessments under the Genuine Student requirement for student visas, the genuineness of intention for visitor visas, or the bona fides of a relationship for partner visas.
Sponsorship and nomination
Refusal of an associated nomination or sponsorship that prevents the visa from being granted, even where the applicant individually satisfies all visa criteria.
Lodge before the 28-day deadline
ART review applications must be lodged within 28 days of notification, with shorter windows for character matters and detained applicants. Visa Plan Lawyers prepares protective filings while the substantive case is built.
Visa refusal review information is sourced from the Migration Act 1958, the Migration Regulations 1994, and the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024, current as at April 2026. Time limits and procedural rules are subject to change. This page provides general information only and does not constitute legal advice.