If you have received a Notice from the Department of Home Affairs which has indicated your visa application may be cancelled or refused, it is important to know that you may have options to appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).

There are many reasons to receive a visa refusal or visa cancellation, however most matters have options to review.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) deals with decisions about general visa applications and decisions and are provide independent merits review of a wide range of administrative decisions made by the Australian Government. The AAT’s aim is to make the review process accessible, fair, just, economical, informal and quick.

In the Migration Division, the AAT operates as a non-adversarial tribunal to review decisions by the Department of Home Affairs. This means that you can be represented by an Immigration Lawyer or Agent, but that there is no representing counsel on the Department of Immigration side.

Time Limits

The importance of taking notice of this information cannot be overstressed. But if you have the legal right to make an appeal to the AAT, the notice will state this. The time within which to lodge an appeal to the AAT for review is strictly limited and must be adhered to otherwise the application will be rejected. The period for making an appeal will depend on the decision sought to be reviewed.

Generally speaking, you must lodge your appeal to the AAT within 21 days. However, the timeframe can vary depending on the type of decision and the method by which you were notified of the decision.

If the appeal is not lodged within this timeframe, you would in general lose your right to review.

AAT Appeal Process

If you have been refused a visa or had a visa cancellation, it is very important to pay careful attention to the letter of the refusal/cancellation; it includes the detail reasons for the refusal/cancellation and what requirements you were not able to fulfil.

The process and procedures for making an appeal to the AAT, is quite complex. You should consider seeking legal advice immediately if thinking about taking the appeal option.

If you are the applicant of a decision involving a visitor, student, partner, family, business or skilled visa – whether it was refused or cancelled – talk to us for help with making an appeal.

Remember that there are strict time limits for lodging an appeal to the AAT from the day you are given notice of the decision; you must act promptly if you want to appeal.

The AAT Appeal Hearing

AAT appeals commonly include a hearing. The hearing will typically be held at an AAT hearing room in your nearest state capital. The AAT will contact you and inform you of the date, time and location of your hearing. If you wish, you may request to have an interpreter in your hearing.

In many AAT appeals, the hearing will take place in person however, under special circumstances, you may be requested to attend your hearing via video conference or telephone.

An AAT hearing is an important opportunity to tell your story in detail and address any issues that you may have found in the Department’s visa refusal decision. It is important to be well prepared for the hearing, to have supportive evidence and to ensure all the legal criteria are met in order to have a successful appeal. The migration agents and lawyers at MND Co have represented clients successfully at the AAT on many occasions.

The AAT Appeal Decision

The AAT can decide to either “remit” or “affirm” the decision by the Department of Home Affairs.

If the decision is “affirmed” it means that the AAT agrees that your visa application should have been refused or your visa should have been cancelled. If the decision is “remitted” this means that the AAT does not agree with the basis on which your application was refused or your visa was cancelled.

In the case of visa refusals, if the AAT remits the decision, your case will be forwarded back to the Department of Home Affairs for further assessment. The Department of Home Affairs will then look at any remaining requirements for grant of the visa.

If the AAT affirms the decision, you may be able to lodge a further appeal. The most likely option would be an appeal to the Federal Circuit Court.

You may consider appealing to the Federal Court if you think that there is a legal error in the decision by the AAT.