Key Takeaways
- Migration Regulation 1.15A sets four evidence categories: the financial aspects, the nature of the household, the social context of the relationship, and the nature of your commitment.
- Weakness in any single category is a common cause of refusal.
- The deadline to apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal is 28 calendar days for every partner visa subclass, and for most migration decisions it cannot be extended.
- Published Tribunal data for July 2024 to March 2025 put the partner visa set aside rate at around 55%.
- A refusal under public interest criterion 4020 carries a bar of three years on most further visas, or ten years where identity is involved.
A partner visa refusal is rarely a finding that your relationship is not real. Far more often it is a finding that the material put before the delegate did not prove it to the required standard. That distinction matters, because it changes what you do next.
The Tribunal set aside rate for partner visas sits at around 55% on published data for July 2024 to March 2025, well above protection visas at 10%. That gap exists precisely because most partner refusals are evidentiary rather than substantive, and the Tribunal accepts new evidence.
The four evidence categories
Migration Regulation 1.15A directs the decision maker to four aspects of the relationship. A file that is strong in three and thin in the fourth is the file that gets refused.
The financial aspects
Joint accounts, shared liabilities, property, and any pooling of income or expenses. Couples who keep money separate by choice are not disqualified, but the reason has to be explained rather than left for the delegate to guess.
The nature of the household
How you run daily life together: the lease or title, who is on the utilities, how domestic tasks and costs are divided, and where mail and identity documents are directed.
The social context
Whether the relationship is known and accepted by family, friends and the wider community. Statutory declarations from supporting witnesses sit here, along with photographs, travel, and joint invitations across a span of time rather than a single occasion.
The nature of the commitment
The history of the relationship, the length of any separation, and the plans you have made together. This is the category most often treated as a formality, and it is the one delegates read closely.
The My Migration Lawyers Difference
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What a refusal does not settle
A refusal decides your application, not your relationship. Two paths remain open, and choosing between them depends on the reason given.
An appeal to the Administrative Review Tribunal keeps your place and lets you fix the gap with evidence that did not exist when you applied. A fresh application can be faster where the gap is easily fixed, but it means a second charge of AUD $11,710 and gives up the queue position you already hold. Section 48 also blocks most other onshore applications after a refusal.
One reason changes the calculation entirely. Where the refusal cites public interest criterion 4020, which concerns bogus documents or false or misleading information, the bar attaches to the person rather than the application, and waiver is limited.
Supporting witnesses are asked to describe what they have seen of your relationship. When four declarations arrive in near identical wording, they stop reading as four independent accounts and start reading as one account signed four times. Specific, first hand detail from each witness carries far more weight than a shared template.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Do I Have to Appeal a Partner Visa Refusal
The standard deadline for every partner visa subclass is 28 calendar days. That covers the 820, 801, 309, 100 and 300, and the 461 where the refusal carries review rights. The period runs from the date you are taken to have been notified, and for most migration decisions it cannot be extended.
What Are the Chances of Winning a Partner Visa Appeal
Published Tribunal data for July 2024 to March 2025 put the partner visa set aside rate at around 55%, well above protection visas at 10%. That reflects the fact that most partner refusals are evidentiary rather than substantive, and the Tribunal accepts new evidence.
Should I Appeal or Just Apply Again
It depends on the refusal reason and whether a bar applies. A fresh application can be faster where the gap is fixable, but it means a second charge of AUD $11,710 and gives up your place in the queue. Section 48 also blocks most other onshore applications after a refusal.
If your partner visa has been refused, the 28 day period is running from the date you are taken to have been notified. Our partner visa refusal team can assess the decision record, identify the gap the delegate relied on, and advise whether an appeal or a fresh application is the better route.
Book a consultation and speak directly with a lawyer about your refusal and your remaining options.
Weiwei Zhang is the Principal Lawyer and Managing Director of My Migration Lawyers. My Migration Lawyers is one of Australia's leading immigration law firms, dedicated exclusively to Australian immigration law. The firm represents individuals, families and businesses across all areas of migration law, with particular expertise in complex immigration matters, Partner Visas, Protection Visas, corporate migration, visa refusals, Administrative Review Tribunal reviews, judicial reviews and visa cancellations.
