For most reviewable visa refusals and cancellations, the time to apply to the ART is 28 days. Here is what that means.

Australian visa refusals and cancellations, and review by the Administrative Review Tribunal

An independent guide to visa refusals, cancellations and review by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART): the 28-day time limit, how to check who you hire, what review costs and what each notice means, with every deadline and fee quoted from the ART or the legislation and dated.

Check your decision letter

Guides and resources

How to check a migration agent is registered

You can check whether someone is a registered migration agent by searching the public Register run by the OMARA. Lawyers are checked in a different place.

Questions to ask before hiring a migration agent

A checklist of questions drawn from what the Code of Conduct already requires of registered migration agents, so you know what you are entitled to ask for.

Migration agent vs migration lawyer

Both registered migration agents and Australian lawyers can lawfully charge for immigration assistance. They are regulated by different bodies and checked in different places.

Migration agent fees and written agreements

There is no official fee range for migration agents or lawyers. What the rules do give you is a set of rights: a written agreement, a fee estimate, itemised invoices, a client money account and a refund policy.

Free and low-cost help after a visa refusal

Legal aid commissions, community legal centres and some specialist services give free immigration help, but most have eligibility limits and many focus on protection and cancellation matters.

Representing yourself at the ART

The ART says you can deal with it directly, or ask someone to represent you. Only a registered migration agent or an Australian lawyer can charge a fee for it.

ART appeal lawyer: what to check before you hire one

Who can lawfully charge to represent you at the Administrative Review Tribunal, how to confirm a lawyer holds a practising certificate, and what a fair agreement should cover.

Visa cancellation lawyer: what to check before you hire one

Many cancellations start with a notice that has a short response time. Here is what a lawyer or registered agent can lawfully charge for, what to confirm before paying, and what free help exists.

Partner visa refusal lawyer: what to check before you hire one

Who may apply for review of a partner visa refusal can depend on where you applied from, and ART partner reviews have been among the slowest. Both affect how you hire and what you agree to pay.

See all 40 guides

Explore the topics

Guides and explainers across the subject.

The deadline comes first

For most reviewable migration decisions, the Migration Act allows 28 days after the day of notification to apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). For a person in immigration detention on the day of notification, the period is 14 days. For some character decisions it is 9 days. The ART cannot extend these periods for migration and protection reviews or for expedited character reviews.

The clock runs from the day you are notified, not from the date printed on the letter, and how a notice reaches you affects that day. Your decision letter should state the time limit that applies to you and where to apply. Read it first; the ART itself tells applicants to check their Department of Home Affairs decision letter.

Everything else on this site follows from that: how to check who you hire, what review costs, and what each notice means. This is general information, not immigration assistance. For your own situation, speak to a registered migration agent, an Australian lawyer, or a free service.

The three questions people arrive with

Who can help, and can they charge?

The difference between a registered migration agent and a migration lawyer, and how to check either one.

What will it cost?

The ART application fee, the hardship reduction, and what professional fees depend on.

What does this notice mean?

Refusals, cancellations and notices of intention to consider cancellation, in plain English.

What this site is and is not

It is an independent information site that explains visa refusals, cancellations and review by the Administrative Review Tribunal, with each deadline and fee quoted from the ART or the legislation and dated.

It is not a migration agent or a law firm, it does not give immigration assistance or legal advice, and it cannot tell you whether your decision can be reviewed or whether you are in time. Your decision letter states your own time limit and review rights. Right now no agent or firm pays to appear here. Read how the site works.

Every deadline and fee here is quoted, dated and sourced

Deadlines come from the Migration Act 1958 and the ART's own pages, and fees from the ART's fee page, each with the date we checked it. Where a point could not be confirmed from the ART, the legislation or Home Affairs, the page says so instead of filling the gap.

How this site sources things

The contact form on this site is switched off, so nothing sent through it reaches anyone. What you can do instead: read your decision letter, which states your own time limit and review rights; check the Administrative Review Tribunal website at art.gov.au for how to apply; check any migration agent on the OMARA register of migration agents; and look at the free help options in our guide. The time limits are strict, so do not wait on this site.