Australian visa refused: your options after a refusal
If Home Affairs refused your visa, you can ask the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) to review the decision, if the law allows it for your visa, or lodge a new application. The ART says its time limits are very strict and it cannot extend them. Your refusal letter states whether you have a review right and the deadline, so read it first.
Reviewed by the Cosmos case team, 22 October 2026. Rules and figures are as at 22 October 2026 unless a line says otherwise.
Refused and not sure what the letter means? Share your refusal letter for a review of your options.
Send my refusal letterStep 1: read your refusal letter
Both options start from the letter. The ART says the Home Affairs decision letter tells you whether the Tribunal can review the decision and whether you are a person who can apply. Look for these items before you decide anything.
| Find this in the letter | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| The visa subclass and the criteria you did not meet | A review and a new application both have to answer those stated reasons with evidence. |
| Whether it names a review right, and who may apply | The Migration Act and Regulations decide which decisions the ART can review. Not every refusal, and not every person, qualifies. |
| The deadline and how it is counted | Time limits depend on the decision type. The ART calls them very strict and says it has no power to extend them. |
| Who made the decision | The ART cannot review a decision to cancel a visa made personally by the Minister for Home Affairs or the Minister for Immigration. |
| Your reference numbers and the date of the decision | If you do not have the letter when you apply, the ART needs your name, address and contact details, the date and a description of the decision, and one or more identity details such as date of birth or passport number. |
Source: Administrative Review Tribunal, Immigration and citizenship: migration visa refusal or cancellation, and Home Affairs, Review of decisions, read 22 October 2026.
Option A: ask the ART to review the decision
The ART reviews decisions made under the Migration Act 1958. This page covers migration visa refusals. Protection visa decisions and character-related decisions have separate ART rules.
| Question | What the ART says (22 October 2026) |
|---|---|
| Fee | AUD 3,727 for most migration decisions. 50 percent of the full fee in cases of financial hardship. Pay it before your deadline for applying. |
| How to apply | Online (the ART calls it the easiest and safest way), the M1 form, email to reviews@art.gov.au, by letter or at a Tribunal office. |
| Time limit | Strict and set by decision type. Check your letter. No power to extend. |
| How long it takes | For migration reviews finalised 1 March to 31 August 2026: half within 1 year 5 months of lodging, 95 percent within 2 years 9 months. A guide only. |
| Faster review | You can ask for an expedited review if the visa was refused because you did not meet a criterion and you have documents that objectively show you now meet it, or if the review is urgent for exceptional reasons. |
| Who can help | You can represent yourself or ask someone to help. The ART describes its process as informal, and you can deal with it directly. |
| What the Tribunal can decide | Affirm the decision, vary it, set it aside and substitute a new decision, or send it back to the decision-maker to reconsider. |
| If you disagree with the result | You may be able to appeal to a court. The ART tells you what you can do next when it writes to you. |
Nobody can predict how a review will end. The Tribunal looks at the decision against the criteria, so the useful question is which criterion failed and what evidence answers it. Our Australia visit visa guide has a short section on reapplying or seeking review after a refusal.
Source: ART, Immigration and citizenship; Fees (migration decisions under Part 5 of the Migration Act); Processing times (reviews finalised 1 March to 31 August 2026); Possible outcomes; read 22 October 2026. The ART announced on 16 March 2026 that law changes will require some temporary visa refusal reviews to be decided without an oral hearing, student visas first, from a date to be set by proclamation. We have not checked whether that has started.
Option B: lodge a new application
A new application does not depend on review rights. It is assessed from the start against the visa criteria, it has its own application charge (check the current charge for your subclass on the Home Affairs fees page), and you should declare the earlier refusal and answer each stated reason with new evidence.
For points-tested skilled visas, a new application normally means a new Expression of Interest and a new invitation, so look at your points, your skills assessment and your English result first. Rounds and cut-offs are on our SkillSelect invitation rounds page, and the occupation side is on Australian skills assessment. Your own clocks keep running while you wait: age points step down at 33 and 40, and test results and assessments have validity periods.
Review or reapply: how they compare
| ART review | New application | |
|---|---|---|
| Needs a review right in the letter | Yes | No |
| Deadline | Strict, from your letter, cannot be extended | No ART deadline applies; your age, test and assessment dates still count |
| Cost | AUD 3,727 (50 percent in financial hardship) | The application charge for the subclass |
| Time | Half of recent migration reviews took up to 1 year 5 months | The processing time for the subclass on the Home Affairs site |
| What is examined | The original decision, with evidence you give the Tribunal | A fresh assessment of the whole application |
| Evidence | Documents that answer the stated refusal reasons | A complete new set, declaring the earlier refusal |
The ART and Home Affairs set these terms, and neither route carries a promised outcome.
How Cosmos helps after a refusal
Review hearings and legal arguments are matters for Australian lawyers and registered migration agents. Send us your refusal letter. A MARA-registered agent we work with reads it, confirms the review deadline and explains whether an ART review or a fresh application fits your case. The agent will also tell you if the letter shows no review right. We do not promise outcomes.
We work with a team of registered practitioners: 4+ CICC-registered consultants for Canada and 3+ MARA-registered agents for Australia. Our verification page explains how to check the practitioner named on your file against the official registers.
Questions we get about Australian visa refusals
Can I appeal an Australian visa refusal?
Sometimes. The Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) can review some, but not all, visa decisions made by the Department of Home Affairs. Whether yours is reviewable, and whether you are a person who can apply, is set by the Migration Act and Regulations, and your refusal letter says which applies to you. If it gives no review right, your option is usually a new application.
How long do I have to apply to the ART?
The time limit depends on the decision type and the ART calls it very strict. Check the Home Affairs decision letter for the exact date. The ART says it has no power to extend the time limit for a review of a migration visa refusal, so work from the date in your letter and do not wait.
How much does an ART review cost?
The application fee for a review of most migration decisions is AUD 3,727, with a reduction to 50 percent of the full fee in cases of financial hardship, as listed on the ART fees page on 22 October 2026. For these migration reviews the fee must be paid before your deadline for applying.
How long does an ART migration review take?
Of migration reviews the ART finalised between 1 March 2026 and 31 August 2026, half took up to 1 year and 5 months from lodgement and 95 percent took up to 2 years and 9 months. The ART calls this a guide only and says it cannot promise that any individual review will finish in that time.
Should I ask for review or lodge a new application?
It depends on your letter. A review needs a review right and a deadline you can still meet, costs AUD 3,727 and has been taking more than a year. A new application needs no review right, but it is assessed again from the start and has its own application charge. A MARA-registered agent we work with can explain both routes for your case.
Can I apply for ART review from the UAE?
The ART takes applications online, by its M1 form, by email to reviews@art.gov.au, by letter or at a Tribunal office, and you can represent yourself or have someone help you. Whether a refusal you received while living outside Australia can be reviewed at all is a question for your decision letter.
Does the ART always hold a hearing?
Not always. The ART's own page says some cases are finalised by agreement, some on written material only and others after a hearing. On 16 March 2026 the ART also announced law changes that will require decisions on certain temporary visa refusals without an oral hearing, starting with student visas, from a date to be set by proclamation.
Reviewed by the Cosmos case team, 22 October 2026. Cosmos Immigration is a private consultancy, not a government body. Review rights, fees and time limits are set by the Australian Government and the ART and can change without notice. Cosmos works with affiliated lawyers and attorneys in every country we serve. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
- ART: Immigration and citizenship reviews (what can be reviewed, how to apply, time limits; read 22 October 2026)
- ART: Fees (AUD 3,727 migration fee, financial hardship reduction; read 22 October 2026)
- ART: Processing times (reviews finalised 1 March to 31 August 2026)
- ART: Possible outcomes (affirm, vary, set aside, remit; appeals)
- ART: Upcoming changes affecting temporary visa refusal reviews (16 March 2026)
- Home Affairs: Review of decisions (ART has jurisdiction over certain visa decisions; read 22 October 2026)
Talk to us about your refusal
Monday to Saturday | 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM (UAE Time)
Enter your information
Choose the Destination to migrate
