ART Appeal
Submissions
Submission documentation for a Tribunal matter — the decision record addressed, the criterion the refusal actually turned on, and the findings the Tribunal would have to make.
The deadline, and why it is the first thing to check
The Administrative Review Tribunal replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Immigration Assessment Authority on 14 October 2024. With it, the time limits moved — and the numbers that circulate most widely are now wrong.
Regulations 4.10 and 4.11 of the Migration Regulations have been repealed. The time for applying for review of a Part 5-reviewable migration decision is now in the Migration Act itself, at section 347.
| Situation | Period | Extendable? |
|---|---|---|
| Not in immigration detention | 28 days after notification | No — s 347(5) |
| In immigration detention, application made on or after 21 February 2025 | 14 days after notification | No |
| In immigration detention, application made before 21 February 2025 | 7 working days | No |
| Expedited character review | 9 days | No |
| Judicial review in the Federal Circuit and Family Court | 35 days from the date of the Tribunal’s decision | — |
The seventy-day figure for offshore applicants is gone. It came from the now-repealed regulation 4.10. Both the Explanatory Statement to the repealing regulations and the Tribunal’s own current guidance give a single 28-day period for applicants not in detention. And the Tribunal has no power to extend — section 347(5) says so, and the Tribunal’s own public guidance says it cannot extend the deadline. The clock runs from notification, which is deemed rather than actual, so it is usually running earlier than a client thinks.
Who can apply — and the trap that loses both decisions
This is the most consequential thing on this page for any employer-sponsored matter, and it is settled at Full Court level.
Standing now sits in section 347A. For a visa refusal onshore, the non-citizen who is the subject of the decision has standing, and must be physically present in the migration zone when the Tribunal application is made. For an offshore sponsored visa refusal, the sponsor or nominator has standing. For nomination and sponsorship refusals, standing is prescribed by regulation 4.02(5).
And for a nomination refusal, regulation 4.02(5) gives the review right to the approved sponsor who made the nomination — not to the visa applicant named in it.
Dyankov v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2017] FCAFC 81. The Full Court held that only the approved sponsor that made the nomination may apply for review of a refusal to approve it — and went further. A visa applicant is not “sponsored by an approved sponsor” once the nomination has been refused. So where the sponsor does not seek review of the nomination refusal, the Tribunal has no jurisdiction over the visa refusal either. Both decisions are lost, and the twenty-eight days cannot be extended. If you are the worker, the review right is not yours to exercise; if you are the business, it is yours to lose.
What the fee is, and what comes back
The migration application fee at the Tribunal is substantial and it is a validity requirement, not an administrative detail. The prescribed fee is set by regulation 4.13 and must be paid within the period for making the application — under section 348(3) an application is “properly made” only if the fee is paid in time. The general fee-dismissal powers in the ART Act do not apply to Part 5 reviews.
The Tribunal’s published migration fee is A$3,580, with a 50 per cent reduction available for financial hardship. Character-related visa refusals and cancellations attract the lower standard fee instead. A Registrar may reduce the migration fee by half, and the practice direction requires at least half the fee and the reduction request to be received before the application period expires — so a hardship request is also a deadline item.
Some applicants qualify for a reduction without a form: people with legal aid for the case, holders of a Commonwealth Health Care Card, pensioner concession card or Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, people under 18, people in prison or detention, and recipients of certain Centrelink study payments. Otherwise a request form with supporting documents is needed, and a refusal of the request can itself be reviewed within 28 days.
Refunds
An invalid application brings a full refund. Where the decision is set aside or varied, or the matter remitted to Home Affairs, part of the fee is refunded; where the review is decided in the applicant’s favour, the Tribunal’s own page describes the refund by reference to a A$100 floor. Those two rules sit together on the same page without being reconciled, so we will not reduce them to a slogan — a successful applicant is entitled to a refund, and the Tribunal’s fees page is the place to confirm which rule applies. Withdrawn applications attract a refund only in very limited circumstances.
Review is a fresh exercise of the original power
The Tribunal reviews decisions on their merits. Section 54 of the ART Act lets it exercise the decision-maker’s own powers and discretions, which is what makes the review de novo in substance rather than an audit of the delegate’s reasoning. Section 52 provides that the Tribunal is not bound by the rules of evidence and may inform itself as it considers appropriate. Section 55 gives parties the right to present their case.
Which means material that was never before the Department can be put to the Tribunal — and in sponsored matters that is often the whole point of the review.
On review the Tribunal must affirm, vary or set aside. If it sets aside it may substitute its own decision or remit the matter with directions or recommendations. It can also remit during the review under section 85, in which case the decision-maker must affirm, vary, or set aside and substitute within the period the Tribunal specifies — and is taken to have affirmed if it does not act in time.
Argue with the criterion, not with the delegate. Submissions fail when they argue that the delegate was unfair or careless. The Tribunal is exercising the power afresh; it is deciding whether the criterion is met on the material now before it. A submission built around the delegate’s conduct answers a question the Tribunal is not asking, and spends its credibility doing it.
What changed in the Tribunal’s own procedure
If you are working from pre-2024 templates or commentary, three things have moved and one of them will cost you.
Section 359A survives. The Tribunal must still give the applicant clear particulars of information it considers would be the reason, or part of the reason, for affirming the decision; ensure as far as reasonably practicable that the applicant understands why it is relevant and the consequences of reliance on it; and invite comment. That can be done orally at the hearing or in writing.
Sections 359AA, 359B and 359C were repealed by the consequential and transitional legislation — the provisions on putting adverse information at the hearing, on what a written invitation had to contain, and on the consequences of not commenting.
And there is no longer any prescribed period for responding to a section 359A invitation, and no provision for extending one. Every template letter and article quoting “28 days to respond to a 359A” is out of date. The invitation itself now sets the time.
The Guidance and Appeals Panel is the President’s to use. The President may refer an application that raises an issue of significance to administrative decision-making, or a Tribunal decision that raises such an issue or may contain an error of fact or law materially affecting it. In migration and protection matters the referral is understood to be the President’s own initiative rather than something a party can request — so it is not a second appeal to plan for. Build the case for the review you have.
What we produce
A chronology of the application, the decision and the notification dates, with the deemed-notification position calculated
Identification of the criterion or criteria the refusal actually turned on, separated from the delegate’s commentary
Submission documentation addressing each ground of refusal against the evidence, provision by provision
Treatment of new evidence not before the delegate, and why it meets the criterion
The findings the Tribunal would need to make to reach the outcome sought, stated as findings rather than as argument
A schedule of the supporting material, indexed and paginated
Any underlying report the ground of refusal calls for — market salary, genuine position, labour market testing — prepared as its own document
How we work, and the limits we work within
Zeolla Solutions prepares research and submission documentation. We are not a law practice and not a registered migration agent. We do not appear at the Tribunal, we do not represent anyone, we do not advise on prospects or strategy, and we do not correspond with the Tribunal or the Department on anyone’s behalf.
For Tribunal matters we work to the instructions of your registered migration agent or Australian legal practitioner, and the documentation forms part of their file and their professional responsibility. If you do not have one engaged, engage one first — representation in a migration review is a service only they can lawfully provide, and the Department says as much in its own guidance.
Send the decision record with the form, along with the application as lodged, the material that was before the delegate, any hearing date already set, and the Tribunal reference if one has been allocated. We quote per case and give a delivery date within one business day.
General information, current at October 2026. This page explains the current Tribunal time limits, standing rules and procedure as they stand. Time limits are strict and non-extendable, and nothing on this page is advice about your matter. Zeolla Solutions prepares migration documentation, research and reports — we are not a law practice, we are not a registered migration agent, and nothing here is immigration assistance or immigration advice.
ART Appeal Submission Support
Complete the form and you receive a case reference immediately. Nothing is payable until we confirm scope and price in writing.
Common questions
How long do I have to apply to the ART?
Twenty-eight days after notification for an applicant not in immigration detention, under section 347(3) of the Migration Act. Fourteen days where the applicant is in immigration detention and the application is made on or after 21 February 2025. The Tribunal has no power to extend — section 347(5). The old 70-day period for offshore applicants came from regulation 4.10, which has been repealed.
Who can apply for review of a nomination refusal — the business or the worker?
The business. Regulation 4.02(5) gives the review right to the approved sponsor who made the nomination, and in Dyankov v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection the Full Court confirmed that the visa applicant named in the nomination cannot apply. The Court also held that where the sponsor does not seek review of the nomination refusal, the Tribunal has no jurisdiction over the visa refusal either — so both decisions are lost.
Did the AAT become the ART?
It was replaced by it. The Administrative Review Tribunal commenced on 14 October 2024 under the Administrative Review Tribunal Act 2024, and the AAT and the Immigration Assessment Authority both ceased on that date. Several migration review provisions changed with it, including where the time limits live and what the Tribunal must do with adverse information.
Can new evidence be given to the Tribunal?
Yes, and it is often the point of the review. The Tribunal may exercise the decision-maker’s own powers and discretions, is not bound by the rules of evidence, and parties have the right to present their case — so material that was never before the Department can be put to it. The form asks what is available that the delegate did not see.
What can the Tribunal actually do?
Affirm, vary, or set aside the decision. If it sets aside, it may substitute its own decision or remit the matter to the decision-maker to reconsider as directed or recommended. It can also remit during the review, in which case the decision-maker must act within the period the Tribunal specifies and is taken to have affirmed if it does not.
What does it cost to apply?
The Tribunal’s published migration fee is A$3,580, with a 50 per cent reduction available for financial hardship. The fee is a validity requirement — an application is properly made only if the prescribed fee is paid within the application period — and a hardship reduction request must also be received before that period expires. Character-related refusals and cancellations attract the lower standard fee.
Do I get the fee back if I win?
A refund is payable where the decision is set aside or varied or the matter remitted, and where the review is decided in the applicant’s favour. The Tribunal’s fees page states two rules for a favourable outcome without reconciling them, so we will not reduce it to a percentage — check the current position on that page. Withdrawn applications attract a refund only in very limited circumstances.
Is it still 28 days to answer a section 359A invitation from the Tribunal?
No. Sections 359AA, 359B and 359C were repealed, and the prescribed response period and its extension provision were removed. Section 359A itself survives — the Tribunal must still give clear particulars, explain relevance and the consequences, and invite comment — but the invitation now sets the time. Templates and articles quoting a fixed 28 days are out of date.
Do you appear at the Tribunal?
No. We prepare the submission documentation and the supporting material. Representation in a migration review is a service that only a registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner may lawfully provide, and we are neither. For Tribunal matters we work to your agent’s or lawyer’s instructions.
What do you need from us?
The refusal or cancellation decision record, the application as lodged, the material that was before the delegate, the notification date and the date the decision was dated, any hearing date set, and the Tribunal reference. We confirm within one business day whether the dates can be met.
Often ordered with this
DHA Request for Further Information
A written response to a section 56 request - the material addressed point by point, with the evidence assembled and referenced.
Quoted per case →Case Review
A second opinion on a file before it is lodged - what the evidence supports, where it is thin, and what would strengthen it.
Quoted per case →Genuine Position (GP) Report
The position, the business, the organisational structure and the tasks mapped to the ANZSCO unit group, with the findings table against the Department considerations.
Every Service, Every Price
All seventeen services with their prices and intake forms sit on one page.