Frequently asked questions

For most migration decisions the Act gives you 28 days after the day you are notified of the decision, or 14 days if you are in immigration detention on the day you are notified. The count runs from the day you are notified, not from the date printed on the letter. Some character decisions have a shorter 9-day period. Your decision letter states the time limit that applies to you.

Source: Migration Act 1958, s 347(3) (checked 16 October 2026).

For reviews of migration and protection decisions under Part 5 of the Migration Act, no. The Act switches off the ART's general power to extend time for these reviews, and the ART says it has no power to extend the time limit. A late application is not rescued by asking the ART. The position is different for some other review types, such as some character reviews, so check the letter.

Source: ART, Immigration and citizenship and Migration Act 1958, s 347(5) (checked 16 October 2026).

The Administrative Review Tribunal fee for most migration reviews is A$3,727 (checked 16 October 2026). It must be paid before your deadline for applying. Fees usually rise each 1 July, so check the ART fee page for the current amount. There is no fee for some decisions, such as a bridging visa decision that resulted in a person being placed in immigration detention.

Source: ART, Fees (checked 16 October 2026).

A 50% reduction may be granted on financial hardship grounds. To ask for it, you need to have paid the full fee or 50% of it by the application deadline, and then complete a request for fee reduction before your review is finalised. If the ART does not grant the request, you must pay the full fee or the application will not go ahead.

Source: ART, Fees, fee reductions (checked 16 October 2026).

No. You can represent yourself. Close family or the person sponsoring or nominating you may also represent you. Only a registered migration agent, or an Australian lawyer who holds a practising certificate, can ask you to pay a fee for representing you. The ART cannot recommend a particular person or organisation.

Source: ART, Immigration and citizenship (checked 16 October 2026).

Search the Register of Migration Agents, run by the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA), by name, business name or registration number (MARN). A correct search with no result means the person is not registered. Check even if someone recommended the agent. Lawyers do not appear on the Register, so check a lawyer with the legal professional body in the relevant state or territory.

Source: Department of Home Affairs, Using a migration agent and OMARA, Steps to choose (checked 16 October 2026).

It is the name practitioners use for the written notice the Minister must give before cancelling a visa under section 116. The notice sets out the grounds that appear to exist and the information relied on, and invites you to show that the grounds do not exist or that there is a reason the visa should not be cancelled, within a specified time. The Act itself does not use the acronym. The response time can be short (for a person in Australia, the regulations prescribe 5 working days for a section 116 notice), so read the date on the notice.

Source: Migration Act 1958, s 119 (checked 16 October 2026).

The Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on 14 October 2024. For visa decisions it provides independent merits review of decisions made by officers of the Department of Home Affairs, which means it can look at the decision afresh rather than only at legal error. The ART is not part of Home Affairs and this site is not part of the ART.

Source: ART, Administrative Appeals Tribunal (checked 16 October 2026).

Sometimes. Legal aid commissions, community legal centres and some non-profit services give free advice, but each has its own limits on who it helps and on which visa matters it covers. For example, Legal Aid NSW says its immigration service covers matters such as protection visa refusals and visa cancellations but not student or visitor visas. The ART lists free refugee and immigration legal services for protection reviews.

Source: ART, Legal support for immigration and citizenship and Legal Aid NSW, Immigration Service (checked 16 October 2026).

The Act sets 14 days instead of 28 if you are in immigration detention on the day you are notified of the decision. That 14-day figure replaced an earlier 7-day figure from 21 February 2025, so older pages that say 7 days are out of date. The ART cannot extend it for migration and protection reviews. This site cannot give advice; a registered migration agent, an Australian lawyer or a free legal service can, and it helps to contact one as soon as you can.

Source: Migration Act 1958, s 347(3) and Administrative Review Tribunal (Miscellaneous Measures) Act 2025 (checked 16 October 2026).

Not by itself. The ART's page says the decision will usually continue to operate during the review, and its practice direction says the Tribunal cannot stay the operation of the reviewable decision in these reviews. Whether you can lawfully stay in Australia while you wait depends on your own visa and any bridging visa, which this site cannot assess. Ask a registered migration agent or Australian lawyer.

Source: ART, After you apply (checked 16 October 2026).

No. It is an independent information site run by an Australian company that is not a registered migration agent or a law firm. It does not give immigration assistance or legal advice and has not assessed your case. In Australia only registered migration agents and Australian legal practitioners can lawfully charge for immigration assistance.

Source: Department of Home Affairs, Using a migration agent (checked 16 October 2026).