Renata runs a joinery workshop in Dandenong South. On a Tuesday she receives a refusal of the 482 nomination for her CNC operator, Tomás. His visa application is refused the same afternoon, because it depended on the nomination. She now holds two refusals, two review rights and one deadline. For most onshore decisions that deadline is 21 days from notification. Her supply contracts do not pause for it. This note explains what the Administrative Review Tribunal is, what it costs, who applies, and how a business owner runs those 21 days.
In short: The Administrative Review Tribunal took over from the AAT on 14 October 2024, charges $3,727 per application and cannot extend a deadline. Onshore deadlines usually run 21 days from notification, the fee halves in hardship and part is refunded if the refusal is set aside.
Who applies for what
Which decision was refused?
In Renata's case there are two applications, two fees and one hearing if the Tribunal joins them. We act for the business on the nomination and for Tomás on the visa, with one file and one set of evidence.
Counting the days
The period runs from the day you are taken to have been notified, not from the day you read the letter. The Tribunal has no power to extend it for migration decisions. A late application is invalid whatever the reason.
| Situation | Usual period | Counted from |
|---|---|---|
| Visa refused, applicant in Australia. | 21 days. | Deemed receipt of the refusal notice. |
| Nomination or sponsorship refused. | 21 days. | Deemed receipt by the business. |
| Applicant in immigration detention. | Shorter. | Deemed receipt, with the period fixed by the Act. |
| Notice sent by email. | As above. | The day the email was sent. |
| Notice sent by post. | As above. | A fixed number of working days after the date on the letter. |
We confirm the notification date from the letter on the day it arrives. Then we count forward and diarise a lodgement date with days to spare. Deepika Khurana leads Tribunal work at the firm and treats that calculation as the first task on any refused file. Her profile is on the team page.
The fee and the refund
The fee for a migration review is $3,727, payable at lodgement, per application. An applicant in severe financial hardship can apply to halve it to $1,863.50, with evidence of income, assets and expenses. If the Tribunal sets the decision aside or remits it, part of the fee is refunded. If the Tribunal affirms the refusal, nothing is refunded. Because a valid application depends on the fee, we settle any hardship request before the deadline, not after it.
What the Tribunal can do
The Tribunal conducts merits review. It stands in the Department's place and decides the matter again on all the evidence, including material the Department never saw. It can affirm the decision. It can set the decision aside and substitute its own. Most often on a successful review it remits the matter with a direction that a criterion is met, and the Department finishes the remaining checks. It is not a court, so nobody has to prove a legal error.
The first 21 days as a business
Keeping the business steady during the review
A review is decided on evidence, and the strongest evidence is a business that keeps doing what it said it would do. If Tomás applied in Australia and the review is lodged in time, his bridging visa continues, usually with the same work conditions. He keeps working. Renata keeps paying the salary in the nomination. The commercial practice keeps the supply contracts on foot and holds off any change of entity. A new employer breaks the link between the nomination and the job. If a sale is already in train, our note on selling with sponsored staff sets out the sequencing.
The written submission then does the work. It takes each refusal reason, states the criterion, and points to the document that answers it. A submission that restates the original application is the most common way to lose a review that should have been won.
What if the Tribunal affirms the refusal?
The merits route closes, but three things remain. Judicial review in the Federal Circuit and Family Court is available where the Tribunal made a legal error, on its own timetable and fees. Ministerial intervention carries no fee but no duty to consider. For the business, a fresh nomination for a different worker, or the same worker offshore, is often the practical path. The section 48 bar usually stops the worker applying again onshore.
If a refusal has arrived this week, send us the letter and we will confirm the deadline the same day. The migration practice runs the review while the commercial team keeps the business trading around it.
Figures verified against Home Affairs visa pricing as at 1 July 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Can the sponsor and the worker lodge one review application together?
No. A nomination refusal and a visa refusal are separate decisions, so each needs its own application and its own $3,727 fee. The Tribunal can hear them together, and we ask for that.
Can we lodge on day 22 if we have a good reason?
No. The Tribunal has no power to extend the period for migration decisions. An application lodged after the deadline is invalid, however strong the reason.
Does the worker keep working while the review runs?
Usually, if the visa was applied for in Australia and the review was lodged in time. The bridging visa linked to the application continues, normally with the same work conditions, until the Tribunal decides.
Who pays the $3,727 when the business is the applicant?
The business. We treat it as a sponsorship cost that the worker should not be asked to meet. The recovery ban on sponsorship costs points the same way.
Can we give the Tribunal evidence the Department never saw?
Yes. Merits review looks at all the evidence available at the time of the Tribunal's decision. New contracts, updated payslips and witness statements can all be filed.
General information as at 2 September 2026. Not legal advice. Review periods and fees change, and your position depends on your facts. Speak to a lawyer before relying on any of it.