Ministerial intervention explained

Ministerial intervention is a personal power of the Minister to substitute a more favourable decision after an ART decision. It is not a right, it is not part of the visa application process, and the Minister is not bound by any timeframe.

Ministerial intervention is a power the Immigration Minister can use, personally, to substitute a more favourable decision for an ART decision. No one has a right to it. The Minister is not required to consider a request and is not bound by any timeframes, as Home Affairs puts it.

This guide describes the power in general terms. It does not say whether any request would be referred or succeed.

What section 351 says

Under section 351 of the Migration Act, if the Minister thinks it is in the public interest, the Minister may substitute for an ART decision another decision that is more favourable to the applicant. The power may only be exercised by the Minister personally, and the Minister has no duty to consider whether to exercise it. Substitutions are reported to Parliament without the applicant's name.

Because it follows an ART decision, it is a different thing from review or a court case. For those, see judicial review after an ART decision.

What Home Affairs says about requests

You must have a decision from a review tribunal before the Minister can use the power. Home Affairs says requests do not form part of the statutory visa application process, and that only requests that meet the instructions are referred to the Minister. The power is unavailable where there is no tribunal decision, where the Minister has already intervened, where a court quashed the review decision, or where the tribunal returned the case and a later decision was made.

A request can be made by the person or an authorised representative. Family members can be included only if they also had a tribunal decision. Requests are made in writing through the Contact the Minister online form or by post.

How requests are assessed

Home Affairs says it refers a request only if it meets all of four conditions: the intervention powers are enlivened, the request is properly made, the request is not inappropriate to refer, and the request meets one of the criteria in the instructions. It also says the Ministerial Instructions do not allow it to assess unique or exceptional circumstances or to start requests on a person's behalf. A request from someone who may be eligible for a partner visa is inappropriate to refer. This site has not read the full instructions, so it does not list their criteria.

Instructions issued on 4 September 2025 and amended on 17 September 2025 replaced the Minister's guidelines dated 11 March 2016. Home Affairs says personal procedural decisions made on 4 September 2025 closed many older requests, and that a new request can be made if yours was finalised that way.

Your status while a request is pending

A request is not a visa application. Home Affairs says it has no effect on removal powers unless the Minister has made a procedural decision to consider the case. The Minister generally expects a person to make arrangements to leave Australia even if a request has been made, and to remain a lawful non-citizen. An unlawful non-citizen who could make a valid bridging visa application but has not will have the request finalised as inappropriate to refer. See bridging visas while you seek review.

Who can help

A registered migration agent or Australian lawyer can say whether a request makes sense in a specific case. Free help also exists; see free and low-cost help after a visa refusal. Home Affairs' pages were last updated in September 2025 and may have changed since.

Nothing here suggests a request will be considered or succeed. The page summarises Home Affairs material and the Act, and is not legal advice or immigration assistance.