Administrative Appeals Tribunal (“AAT”) is an independent merits review tribunal that reviews the Department of Home Affairs’ decisions within its jurisdiction. The AAT, in its merits review process, will reconsider the facts, law, and policy aspects of the original decision. AAT also has powers to review new information unavailable to the original decision-maker.
If you have received a visa refusal, you can either:
If your offshore visa was refused, you might not (further assessment is required to confirm this) have any AAT review rights. In this case, you may need to lodge another application with additional supporting evidence with legal submissions addressing the refusal.
If your visa refusal/cancellation falls within the jurisdiction of AAT, the tribunal is within its power to review this decision. The AAT has a range of powers to review decisions made under the Migration Act 1958 to:
To be eligible for the appeal process, you must:
When the AAT reviews a decision, AAT can choose to affirm, vary, set aside or remit the decision.
If AAT vary a decision, it means the Department's original decision is changed or altered in some way.
If AAT set aside a decision, it means the AAT agree or partially agree the original decision was wrong.
The AAT might replace it with a new decision or remit the decision. In case of remission, the AAT will send the matter back to the department to make a new decision in accordance with AAT's instruction.
If the AAT affirm the decision, it means that the Department decision will remain unchanged.
Our team of Registered Migration Agents will assess your refusal/cancellation letter and determine the reasons behind your visa/nomination/sponsorship being declined.
Following a case conference to identify the cause of refusal, we will provide you with an AAT Action Plan that will guide you towards achieving your desired migration goals in Australia.
Upon completion of your AAT Action Plan, our Agents will provide assistance in lodging your appeal prior to the deadline. Following submission, AAT will issue an acknowledgment letter to our organisation as confirmation of receipt.
Once the AAT case has been lodged, our agents will proceed to prepare a legal submission that addresses the grounds of the Department's refusal.
In our submission, our agents will provide a detailed overview of the case, including the reasons for refusal, the facts of the case, and the specific Migration Regulations that the Department deemed unsatisfactory. We will also examine the relevant policy and case law pertaining to your case, and present compelling arguments as to why the initial decision was incorrect.
In addition to the above, we will also submit any new information or evidence that is available for the AAT's consideration.
After receiving your application by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), it will be assigned to an AAT member for review. They will examine all submissions and documents provided and then schedule a hearing.
Upon receiving a hearing date from the AAT, we will arrange a case conference to discuss the matter and help you prepare for the hearing.
The AAT hearing allows you to present information and arguments about the Department's decision under review.
The hearing is relatively informal and will usually be conducted by one Tribunal Member. The Member will explain what will happen during the hearing.
The length of the hearing varies from case to case. Many hearings are finished in under 3 hours but can be longer.
Once the hearing is completed, the member will either:
The AAT can make the following decisions:
The AAT application fee is $$3,496 (as of 01 July 2024).
The AAT fee may be reduced by 50% if AAT is satisfied that the full payment has caused, or is likely to cause, severe financial hardship to the review applicant.
Unit 7, 242-244 Caroline Springs Blvd
Caroline Springs VIC 3023
