How do you appeal a visa refusal in Australia?
To appeal a visa refusal, work through the notice, eligibility, deadline and payment requirements in that order.
Firstly, read the refusal notice. Home Affairs’ National Innovation visa page says it gives the refusal reasons and whether review is available. Keep those reasons alongside the documents you intend to rely on.
Secondly, note when you were notified. Under sections 347(3) and (5) of the Migration Act 1958, the application limit is 28 days, or 14 days in immigration detention, with no ART extension.
Thirdly, check who can apply and where they must be. Sections 338 and 347A of the Migration Act 1958 distinguish onshore applicants, eligible offshore applicants and sponsor or nominator applications. The next section sets out those distinctions.
Fourthly, apply and pay before the deadline. Gazette notice C2026G00343 sets the current migration review fee at $3,727. The ART’s fees page, as published on 22 June 2026, permits payment of 50% with a hardship request. The ART’s “Immigration and citizenship” page explains how to apply.
Fifthly, decide who, if anyone, represents you. The ART’s “Immigration and citizenship” page, as published on 29 August 2026, identifies the permitted representatives listed below.
The decision: the ART may affirm the refusal, or set the decision aside, vary it or remit it. Under regulation 4.14 of the Migration Regulations 1994, setting aside, varying or remitting the decision attracts a 50% fee refund. An affirmed refusal does not attract that refund.
ART processing times are not published in the sources this guide relies on. There is no verified completion estimate to give here.
Who can apply to the ART?
Who can apply depends on the visa, where the original application was made, and the applicant’s location at the relevant times.
The refused applicant, for a visa applied for in Australia. Section 338(2) of the Migration Act 1958 covers visas grantable in Australia where the application was made in Australia and the decision was not made in immigration clearance. Section 347A(2) requires the applicant to be in Australia when seeking review.
The refused applicant, for a permanent visa applied for outside Australia and grantable in or outside Australia. Read together, sections 338(7A) and 347A(3) require presence in Australia both when refused and when applying for review. Arriving after the refusal does not satisfy the first condition.
A sponsor or nominator, only for visas that cannot be granted in Australia. That is the scope of the sponsor or nominator route in section 338(5), not a general right to challenge every sponsored or nominated visa refusal.
Not under section 338: a section 501 character refusal. Under the Migration Act 1958, review of a delegate’s character decision follows section 500 instead.
Protection decisions carry a different fee: Gazette notice C2026G00343 sets it at $2,293 from 1 July 2026.
The ART time limit: 28 days
The ART time limit is 28 days after the day you are notified, or 14 days in immigration detention. Sections 347(3) and (5) of the Migration Act 1958 do not allow the ART to extend that limit. Missing it is not something the tribunal can fix by granting extra time.
Payment has its own deadline requirement: the ART’s fees page, as published on 22 June 2026, says the fee must be paid by the same review deadline. Do not treat lodging the application and paying later as interchangeable with meeting both requirements.
Judicial review is different. Section 477 of the Migration Act 1958 gives 35 days from the migration decision for an application to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2), with an extension possible in the interests of justice. That court rule does not extend the ART deadline.
ART application fee and financial hardship
The ART application fee for migration decisions is $3,727 for fees paid on or after 1 July 2026, under Gazette notice C2026G00343 and the ART’s paid-date announcement. Financial hardship and refunds are governed by regulations 4.13–4.14 of the Migration Regulations 1994.
| Fee | From 1 July 2026 | Financial hardship | Refund |
|---|---|---|---|
| ART review of a migration decision | $3,727 for fees paid on or after 1 July 2026 | 50% of the fee if the Principal Registrar considers the full fee would cause financial hardship | 50% if the decision is set aside, varied or remitted; full refund if the decision was not reviewable |
| Same fee, paid before 1 July 2026 | $3,580 in 2025–26 | 50% | As above |
| ART review of a protection decision — fee context only | $2,293 | — | — |
| Federal Circuit and Family Court (Division 2), migration application | $4,180 | Reduced fee $2,090 | — |
Sources: Gazette notice C2026G00343, registered 22 June 2026; Migration Regulations 1994 regulations 4.13–4.14; and the ART’s fees page as published on 22 June 2026 for the previous fee. The court’s reduced fee is separate from the ART financial-hardship rule.
The legal mechanism starts with a $3,496 base in regulation 4.13(1) of the Migration Regulations 1994. Regulations 4.13A–4.13B index it each 1 July from 2025; Gazette notice C2026G00343 gives the resulting $3,727 amount. The base is not the current payable fee.
The paid date governs. The ART’s “Increased application fees now apply” announcement, dated 1 July 2026, says the new amounts apply to fees paid on or after that date.
For hardship, the ART’s fees page, as published on 22 June 2026, says to pay the full fee or 50% by the deadline, then lodge the fee reduction form before the review ends. The hardship decision is not reviewable. Regulation 4.13(4) requires the Principal Registrar to consider whether the full fee would cause financial hardship; a reduction is not automatic.
Home Affairs’ “Review of decisions” fees page directs readers to the ART website for tribunal fees.
Who can represent you at the ART?
The ART’s “Immigration and citizenship” page, as published on 29 August 2026, explains who may represent you before the Tribunal. An Australian lawyer with a practising certificate may represent you and charge for that representation, according to that ART page. A nominator’s ability to represent an applicant does not itself create a right to lodge review in the nominator’s own name.
An Australian migration lawyer can check whether the refusal reasons, supporting documents and proposed response are consistent before lodgement. That is a review of the case and its evidence, not a prediction of the tribunal’s decision.
Reviewing an 858 refusal: onshore applicants, offshore applicants in Australia, and no nominator review
A National Innovation visa (subclass 858) refusal follows the general rules, with three consequences specific to it.
Onshore applicants: the Migration Regulations 1994 allow an 858 application and grant in or outside Australia, but not in immigration clearance. An eligible onshore refusal falls under section 338(2) of the Migration Act 1958, with presence in Australia at review lodgement required by section 347A(2).
Offshore applicants: because the 858 is a permanent visa grantable in or outside Australia, sections 338(7A) and 347A(3) together require presence in Australia at both refusal and review lodgement. Being in Australia only when lodging is insufficient.
Nominators: section 338(5) does not cover the 858 because it covers visas that cannot be granted in Australia. The 858 nominator therefore has no review right under that provision.
Does Direction 120 bind the ART?
Processing order: no. Section 4(2) of Direction No. 120 excludes the ART from its processing order. Remitted or substituted tribunal cases also sit outside that order.
Assessing exceptional and outstanding achievement: yes. Section 4(3) of Direction No. 120 requires ART members to apply its section 9 guidance when assessing exceptional achievement. The processing-order exclusion does not remove that assessment guidance.
Direction No. 120 has been in effect since 25 July 2026. Its section 9 factors are not a checklist: the assessment weighs all factors on balance, including unfavourable information. A response should therefore address adverse material as well as favourable evidence.
After the ART: Federal Circuit and Family Court, 35 days
An application to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) must be made within 35 days of the migration decision under section 477 of the Migration Act 1958. The court may extend time in the interests of justice. This is a separate court application, not an extension of merits review.
Gazette notice C2026G00343 sets the migration application fee from 1 July 2026 at $4,180, with a reduced fee of $2,090.
Another route after an ART decision is ministerial intervention: under section 351 of the Migration Act 1958, the Minister may personally substitute a more favourable decision in the public interest, but has no duty to consider a request.
Frequently asked questions
Can I appeal if my Australian visa is rejected?
If the notice says review is available, check the location rules in sections 338 and 347A of the Migration Act 1958 and apply within its 28-day limit, or 14 days in detention. Home Affairs’ National Innovation visa page explains that the notice identifies review availability.
How long does it take to appeal a visa refusal in Australia?
The Migration Act 1958 gives 28 days to apply, or 14 days in detention. That is a lodgement limit, not a processing estimate. ART processing times are not published in the sources this guide relies on.
How much does it cost to appeal a visa refusal in Australia?
Gazette notice C2026G00343 sets the migration review fee at $3,727 from 1 July 2026. Regulations 4.13–4.14 of the Migration Regulations 1994 provide 50% payment on approved hardship and a 50% refund if the decision is set aside, varied or remitted. The Gazette sets the full court application fee at $4,180.
What is the difference between the AAT and the ART?
The ART has replaced the former AAT. Home Affairs’ “Ministerial intervention” page treats a decision of either tribunal as the merits review tribunal decision needed before ministerial intervention.
Can a sponsor or nominator appeal a visa refusal?
Section 338(5) of the Migration Act 1958 provides that route only for visas that cannot be granted in Australia. It does not cover an 858 nominator.
What happens after a successful ART review?
Regulation 4.14 of the Migration Regulations 1994 provides a 50% fee refund when the decision is set aside, varied or remitted. A remitted 858 case sits outside Direction No. 120’s processing order under section 4(2).
ART review and the 858 refusal options
ART merits review is one of the review and other options after an 858 refusal. A pending review does not lift section 48: the Migration Act 1958 applies the relevant refusal trigger whether or not the application has been finally determined. Read why an onshore 858 is barred after a refusal before treating review as a route to another onshore application.
For adverse information before a decision, see natural justice on an 858. For concrete eligibility, evidence and deadline checks, see when an Australian migration lawyer helps. The 858 visa guide explains the broader application path.
Ask an Australian migration lawyer to check the refusal reasons, review eligibility, lodgement and payment deadlines, and evidence responsive to the tribunal’s issues.