The AAT no longer exists: refusals now go to the Administrative Review Tribunal, the deadlines cannot be extended, and an onshore refusal can lock you out of applying again.
Overview
Visa and citizenship decisions are made by delegates of the Department of Home Affairs, and most refusals carry a right to merits review — since 14 October 2024 at the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), which replaced the abolished Administrative Appeals Tribunal. Do not rely on older guidance that names the AAT. ART review is a fresh look at the case: you can file new evidence and the Tribunal can substitute its own decision. The catch is the machinery. Time limits are short — usually 21 or 28 days from notification, as little as 7 days for some detention-related decisions — and for most migration cases the Tribunal has no power to extend them. The standard fee is AUD 3,580 (from 1 July 2025), with a 50% reduction for financial hardship. An onshore refusal also triggers the section 48 bar on lodging most new visas without leaving Australia, and refusals involving false or misleading material attract PIC 4020 exclusion periods of three to ten years. Verified against art.gov.au, immi.homeaffairs.gov.au and legislation.gov.au as of June 2026.
Merits Review at the ART — How It Works
- Check the decision letter first: It states whether the decision is reviewable, who may apply (the onshore applicant, or the Australian sponsor/nominator for many offshore refusals) and your exact deadline. Not everything is reviewable — many offshore visitor refusals, for instance, have no merits review.
- Deadlines are absolute: Most onshore refusals allow 21 days from notification, offshore sponsored cases commonly allow longer, and some bridging-visa and detention decisions allow as little as 7 days. For migration and refugee cases the ART has no power to extend time — one day late means the review right is lost, leaving only the courts.
- Fee: AUD 3,580 for a standard migration decision review (from 1 July 2025, indexed each July). A 50% reduction is available for financial hardship; the review does not start until the fee is paid, and the application can be dismissed if it remains unpaid six weeks after lodgement. There is no fee for reviewing a bridging-visa decision that put someone in detention.
- Fresh decision, new evidence: The ART stands in the shoes of the original decision-maker — it reconsiders the case on the law and the facts as they stand at review, so evidence that did not exist at refusal (a new English test, an updated skills assessment, relationship evidence) can win the case.
- Staying in Australia: If you held a bridging visa tied to the refused application, it generally remains in force, usually with work rights, while the review is on foot.
- Outcomes: The Tribunal can affirm the refusal, vary it, set it aside and substitute a grant-track decision, or remit the case to the Department with binding directions.
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See Paid Plans →Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to appeal an Australian visa refusal, and can the deadline be extended?
Check your decision letter — it states the exact deadline. The common windows are 21 days from notification for onshore refusals and 28 days for many other reviewable decisions, with as little as 7 days for some bridging-visa and detention-related cases. For migration and refugee matters the Administrative Review Tribunal has no power to extend these limits: lodging one day late extinguishes the review right entirely, leaving only judicial review in the Federal Circuit and Family Court on legal-error grounds. Lodge the ART application immediately — even before your evidence is ready — because you can supplement the case after filing.
What does an ART review cost, and is the fee ever reduced or refunded?
The standard fee for review of a migration decision is AUD 3,580 from 1 July 2025, indexed each July. You pay at lodgement — the Tribunal won't progress the review until it's paid and can dismiss the application if it's unpaid six weeks after lodgement. A 50% reduction is available if you show financial hardship. There is no fee for reviewing a bridging-visa decision that resulted in detention, and protection-visa cases follow different fee rules. In some categories part of the fee is refunded if the review succeeds — confirm the current refund rules on art.gov.au before lodging.
Can I stay and work in Australia while my ART review is running?
Usually, if you applied onshore. When you lodged the original visa application while holding a valid visa, you were granted a bridging visa; that bridging visa generally continues in force — typically with work rights — while a validly lodged ART review is on foot, and through any subsequent judicial review you commence in time. The position is different if you never held a bridging visa, if you were unlawful when you applied, or for offshore refusals (where you have no right to enter Australia for the review). Check your bridging visa's conditions in VEVO rather than assuming.
The ART affirmed my refusal — is that the end?
Not necessarily, but the remaining routes are narrow. You can seek judicial review in the Federal Circuit and Family Court (Division 2) within 35 days of the ART decision under section 477 of the Migration Act — the court can extend that deadline only where the interests of the administration of justice require it, and it reviews for jurisdictional error only, not the merits. You can also request ministerial intervention: the Minister holds personal, non-compellable powers to substitute a more favourable decision in the public interest, but is under no duty even to consider the request. Otherwise the practical option is a new, stronger application — usually lodged offshore because of the section 48 bar.
What is the section 48 bar?
A rule that catches people refused while in Australia. If you are onshore, do not hold a substantive visa (a bridging visa doesn't count), and have had a visa refused or cancelled since you last entered, section 48 of the Migration Act prevents you applying onshore for most visa subclasses. Only a short prescribed list — including partner and protection visas — can still be lodged from inside Australia. For everyone else the consequence is concrete: depart and apply from offshore. The bar persists until you leave; it does not expire with time spent onshore, and applying for an excluded subclass just to stay invites refusal and worse.
What is PIC 4020 and how bad is a refusal under it?
Public Interest Criterion 4020 requires that no bogus document or false or misleading information be given in your current application — or in any application in the previous 12 months. A refusal under it carries a 3-year exclusion from most Australian visas, and 10 years where the Department is not satisfied of your identity. It applies even if a migration agent or relative supplied the false material without your knowledge, which is why you should review every document lodged in your name. A waiver exists only for compelling or compassionate circumstances affecting an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. Always disclose past refusals; concealing them is itself a 4020 breach.