Administrative Appeals Tribunal Application

If you have received a visa refusal or cancellation, you may be eligible to apply for an appeal with the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). An experienced lawyer affiliated with This Is Australia will review your documentations and prepare a comprehensive legal submission to the AAT on your behalf and attend the AAT hearing with you.

The AAT is an independent body that has the power to review the original decision made by the Department of Home Affairs (DOHA) and determine whether the decision was correctly made.

There are many reasons to apply to the AAT for a review of your visa refusal or cancellation such as:

• The DOHA case officer did not correctly determine a visa criterion by misunderstanding a fact or wrongly applying the law
• Changes in your circumstances that could result in you now meeting a visa criterion
• Your previous migration representative did not submit an adequate application
• Unique or exceptional circumstances that exist to warrant the AAT referring your case to the Minister of Immigration and Citizenship

If you believe that a decision made by DOHA is unfair or wrong, we can assist in providing a thorough review of the decision and determine if appealing to the AAT would result in a more favourable decision.

The AAT’s ability to review decisions made by DOHA also extends to reviewing unfavourable decisions made in relation to sponsorship and nomination applications made by employers or family members.

Submission Time Limits

Whether a decision is reviewable by the AAT as well as the timeframe in which an AAT appeal application must be made are usually contained in the decision letter from DOHA.

It is valuable to note that the time limits to lodge appeal applications are relatively short, so it is important that you contact us as soon as possible when you receive an unfavourable decision from DOHA.

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal Process

The processing time after an AAT application is lodged ranges from a few months to a few years subject to the type of decision under review. Once an AAT Member is assigned to the case, there will generally be a request for additional and up-to-date documents to be provided in support of the case.

The documents to be provided will usually be accompanied by an extensive legal submission to explain the circumstances of the case and why a favourable decision should be made.

It is only after the documents are submitted on time in which a Member may call a hearing to ask further questions in relation to the document or the applicant’s circumstances to determine if the decision made by DOHA should remain the same or be set aside. As your representatives, we are able to attend to hearing with you to provide support and be on hand to answer any technical questions the Member may have in relation to the migration laws and regulations.

If the AAT determines that a decision to refuse or cancel a visa was incorrect, it has the power to set aside the initial decision and substitute a more favourable decision. However, in most cases when the initial decision is set aside, the application will be remitted back to the DOHA with directions that the visa meets the criterion for which it was initially refused after which DOHA will continue to assess the remaining criteria of the visa.

Although it is not mandatory to be represented at the AAT, engaging our assistance will generally result in a much higher success rate than if you are self-represented.