What happens after you apply to the ART

After you apply, the Department sends the ART its decision and documents, and the ART may hold directions hearings before a hearing before a Tribunal member. You can give new information, and the original decision usually keeps operating while you wait.

After you apply, the ART tells the Department, which sends the ART the decision and the documents it relied on. The ART may then hold a directions hearing, and later a hearing before a Tribunal member. You can give the ART new information during the review, although student visa reviews decided on the papers have set response periods. In the meantime the Department's decision usually continues to operate.

That is the general path. Your own case may differ, for example if you are in immigration detention, if you applied about a student visa, or if the ART expedites your case. The ART's letters to you set the steps for your case.

Step 1: the Department's documents

The ART's page says the original decision-maker will send the decision and all relevant review documents within 28 days after being told the application has been received. These are called 'T documents'.

That is not the only timing figure. The Migration Act (section 352) requires the Secretary to give the ART a statement of the findings and reasons within 10 working days of being notified (2 working days for certain bridging visa decisions), and other relevant documents as soon as practicable. We have not been able to reconcile the two figures, so we report both rather than pick one. You can ask the Department for access to the written material it gave the ART, and the ART's practice direction suggests asking early.

Step 2: case events

The ART's general pathway is a directions hearing, then (for some case types) dispute-resolution events, then a hearing. A directions hearing is a brief hearing about procedural issues to move the review along. The ART says that for a lot of cases, like immigration cases, it cannot use informal processes such as conferences or conciliation for legal reasons.

If you miss a case event, the ART can dismiss the application or go ahead without you. Read every letter from the ART and keep your contact details up to date. See ART hearings explained.

Step 3: giving the ART information

The ART says you can give it new information you think supports your case. It is not bound by the rules of evidence and can inform itself on any matter in the way it considers appropriate. It can also exercise the powers of the original decision-maker.

If the ART has information that could be part of the reason for affirming the decision, the Act (section 359A) requires it to give you clear particulars and invite you to comment, with some exceptions. Student visa refusals are handled differently: from 1 June 2026 the ART must, except in very limited circumstances, decide those on the papers. See student visa refusal review on the papers.

What happens to the decision while you wait

The ART's practice direction states that the ART cannot stay the operation of the reviewable decision in these reviews, and the ART's page says the decision will usually continue to operate. Whether you can lawfully stay in Australia while waiting depends on your immigration status, including any bridging visa. We could not verify the Home Affairs bridging visa pages for this site, so we do not describe them here. See bridging visas while you seek review and what happens to your status after a cancellation.

Faster decisions

The ART says it automatically expedites reviews where possible, without a request, if you are in immigration detention, if you applied for review of a visa cancellation, or if your case came back from a court. Otherwise you can ask it to expedite in set situations, such as where documentary evidence now shows a criterion is met or where there are urgent exceptional circumstances. How long reviews have taken is covered in how long ART reviews take.

The ART's own letters set out the steps and dates for each case; this guide is general background, not legal advice.