Refusals, Appeals & Australian Tribunal Hearings Portal

Yes, the Federal Government will be abolishing the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).

The newly established Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) will commence operations on 14 October 2024.

Matters currently before the AAT will be unaffected. 

Not all Application refusals provide the opportunity for a Merits Review. The Decision Record will state whether that decision can we appealed.

For the Visas that can be appealed, the AAT allows usually 21 or 28 calendar days to appeal a decision.

In some case it may be less or more than that, depending on the policy.

Usually an Appeal Acknowledgement will be received within 1 to 5 business days. 

In some cases, it may take longer. In other cases, the appeal application may have been deemed invalid.

There are a number of factors on why an appeal application may be deemed invalid. It is recommended that you appoint an experienced Registered Migration Agent to appeal on your behalf. 

You can contact us for a complimentary consultation by scrolling to the bottom of this page.

It depends on the complexity of the case. If the appeal has no chance of being overturned, then a decision may be made within a matter of weeks.

According to the AAT's average processing times, which can be found using this link, the expected time for a decision for the most migration applications can be a few months to several years.

The AAT Tribunal Hearing can take place in any of the following formats:

• Face-to-Face at an AAT Office.
• Video Conference.
• Phone Conference Call.

The majority of AAT Tribunal Hearings go for 2 to 3 hours, depending on the case.

In some rare instances, they may go for under 1 hour or over multiple days.

A routine AAT Tribunal Hearing will have the following attendees:

• The Applicant who made the Appeal.
• The Tribunal Member.
• An AAT Staff Member.

Other attendees may also include:

• A Representative, such as a Registered Migration Agent.
• A support person such as a friend or family member.
• Any witnesses that the Applicant has asked to give evidence (The AAT does not expect it will be necessary to call witnesses in many cases).
• An Interpreter (if the Applicant requires one).

It depends on the case.

It is highly recommended that you seek a Registered Migration Agent to prepare you for the AAT Tribunal Hearing (with at least 2-3 mock interviews beforehand).

If you go to an AAT Tribunal Hearing unprepared you will minimise the chances of a successful outcome.