AUSTRALIAN IMMIGRATION LAWYERS
Protection Visa Refusals
A refused protection visa generally carries a right of review to the Administrative Review Tribunal, which decides the claim afresh and holds its own hearing. You have 28 days, or 7 working days if you are in immigration detention. There is no upfront application fee for a protection review, and the deadline cannot be extended.
Reviewed by Weiwei Zhang, Principal Lawyer Last updated 30 July 2026
Speak To Our Lawyers
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
The My Migration Lawyers Difference
Affordable fees
Competitive professional fees make experienced legal representation more accessible.
Instalment payment options
Pay professional fees in manageable instalments throughout your matter.
Experienced lawyers
Experienced representation for visa applications, refusals, cancellations and judicial reviews.
Complex matter capability
Experienced representation when complications, refusals, cancellations or judicial reviews arise.
Two-day
cooling-off period
You receive a two-business-day cooling-off period after signing the costs agreement.
The Tribunal conducts merits review. It is independent of the Department, it decides the case again on all the material before it, and it accepts evidence that did not exist when you applied. An adverse credibility finding by a delegate does not bind it.
Two things about protection reviews differ from every other visa category and both matter.
Two things about protection reviews differ from every other visa category and both matter.
There is no upfront application fee. And the wait is long: on the Tribunal's own published figures, half of protection reviews finalised between October 2025 and March 2026 took more than three years.
How Long You Have
How Long Do You Have to Appeal a Protection Visa Refusal
Short answer
Twenty eight days if you are in the community. Seven working days if you are in immigration detention. Shorter still for a character related refusal. The period runs from the date you are taken to have been notified, not the date you opened the letter, and it cannot be extended.
Twenty eight days if you are in the community. Seven working days if you are in immigration detention. Shorter still for a character related refusal. The period runs from the date you are taken to have been notified, not the date you opened the letter, and it cannot be extended.
Your refusal letter states whether review is available, which period applies, and where to apply. It is the authority for your own matter and it overrides any general table, including the one below. Read it before doing anything else, then put the date in a calendar.
The Administrative Review Tribunal replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Immigration Assessment Authority on 14 October 2024, and now handles all migration and protection review. Material referring to the AAT, the RRT or the IAA is out of date on names and fees, though much of the substance still applies.
The Administrative Review Tribunal replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal and the Immigration Assessment Authority on 14 October 2024, and now handles all migration and protection review. Material referring to the AAT, the RRT or the IAA is out of date on names and fees, though much of the substance still applies.
Eligibility at a Glance
Find the refusal letter and the notification date
Check which period the letter states applies to you
Count the days from the notification date, not the date you read it
Diarise the deadline with a reminder five days out
Check whether your bridging visa is still valid and for how long
Do not depart Australia before getting advice
Do not lodge anything else before getting advice
Get the merits assessed inside the period, not after it
Review Deadlines for Protection Decisions
The period depends on where you are and what the decision was. None of these can be extended, and a late application is invalid rather than merely weak.
Review deadlines after a protection visa refusal
Your situation
Time to apply
In the community, protection visa refused
28 days
In immigration detention
7 working days
Character related refusal or cancellation
Shorter still, check the letter
Extension of time
Not available
Upfront application fee
Nil for protection reviews
Fee if the review is unsuccessful
Becomes payable
The absence of an upfront fee is specific to protection reviews. Other migration reviews carry a standard fee in the order of $3,727. On a protection review a fee becomes payable only if the review is unsuccessful, so cost should never be the reason a valid application is not lodged in time.
Refused recently? The clock is already running and it cannot be stopped. Call before you do anything else.
Where You Stand
What Happens to Your Status After a Refusal
Short answer
Four things people need to know within an hour of reading the letter. Your bridging visa, whether you can apply again, whether you have to leave, and what happens if the deadline has already passed. The first two are the ones most people get wrong.
Four things people need to know within an hour of reading the letter. Your bridging visa, whether you can apply again, whether you have to leave, and what happens if the deadline has already passed. The first two are the ones most people get wrong.
Your Bridging Visa After a Refusal
Applying for review within the period generally allows a further bridging visa, and work rights usually continue. This is one of the strongest practical reasons to lodge inside the period rather than deciding later. If you let the period pass, the bridging visa ceases and the position becomes considerably worse very quickly.
Section 48A Bars a Second Protection Application
Once a protection visa has been refused while you were in Australia, section 48A of the Migration Act generally bars you from making another one. This is the single most important consequence of a refusal and most people do not know it. The bar can only be lifted by the Minister personally under section 48B, which is discretionary, non-compellable and not commonly exercised. Review is not one option among several. It is usually the only one.
If the Deadline Has Already Passed
The Tribunal has no power to extend, and a late application is invalid rather than weak. That does not mean nothing can be done, but the remaining options are narrower: judicial review where the decision discloses a legal error, ministerial intervention, or a request under section 48B where a fresh protection application is what you need. All three are harder than review and all three run on their own deadlines.
Do Not Leave Australia Before Getting Advice
A refusal does not create an immediate obligation to leave while a valid review application is on foot and a bridging visa is in place. Do not depart Australia before getting advice, because departing can end review rights and can prevent you returning. Nothing about your claim is communicated to your home government at any stage. See Protection Visa LGBTI.
Section 48A makes this the moment that decides everything afterwards. It is worth an hour of advice inside the period.
Speak To Our Lawyers
Get Clear Answers on Your Visa Options
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
The Tribunal
What Does the Tribunal Do on a Protection Review
Short answer
Merits review. The Tribunal is independent of the Department, it decides the case again on all the material before it, and it is not confined to the evidence the delegate had. Its task is to reach the correct and preferable decision, not to check whether the delegate made a legal error.
Merits review. The Tribunal is independent of the Department, it decides the case again on all the material before it, and it is not confined to the evidence the delegate had. Its task is to reach the correct and preferable decision, not to check whether the delegate made a legal error.
It Decides the Claim Again
A fresh assessment, not an audit of the delegate's reasoning. The Tribunal reaches its own conclusion.
New Evidence Is Allowed
Material that did not exist when you applied can be put before it, including everything since the refusal.
An Adverse Finding Does Not Bind It
A delegate's credibility finding is not binding on the Tribunal. It forms its own view of you.
You Get Your Own Hearing
A Tribunal member hears from you directly, with an interpreter, and you can call witnesses.
It Is Independent of the Department
Not part of Home Affairs. Its members are not the people who refused you.
It Cannot Grant the Visa Itself
It affirms, varies, sets aside and substitutes, or remits with directions. The Department then implements.
Remittal Is the Usual Successful Outcome
Where a protection review succeeds, the Tribunal generally remits the matter to the Department with a direction that a particular criterion is met. That is not a grant. The Department then completes the remaining health, character and security checks and decides. Certificates obtained years earlier may have expired and need redoing, which adds further time.
How Long It Stays Valid
Because it is merits review with new evidence permitted, a review is not a re-argument of the original application. It is a fresh case, built on everything that has happened since, and directed at the specific findings the delegate made. That is why an appeal which simply resubmits the original material in a tidier folder rarely succeeds.
The Tribunal forms its own view of you. That is the opportunity, and it is worth preparing for properly.
The Odds
What Are the Chances and How Long Does It Take
Short answer
Protection reviews succeed far less often than other visa categories and take considerably longer. On Tribunal figures for reviews finalised between October 2025 and March 2026, half of protection reviews took more than three years and one month, and 95% took up to five years and four months.
Protection reviews succeed far less often than other visa categories and take considerably longer. On Tribunal figures for reviews finalised between October 2025 and March 2026, half of protection reviews took more than three years and one month, and 95% took up to five years and four months.
Protection reviews, 50%
3
Yr
1
mo
Finalised within this period, on Tribunal data for October 2025 to March 2026.
Protection reviews, 95%
5
Yr
4
mo
The long tail. Migration reviews by comparison run at 18 months and 34 months.
Upfront fee
$
Nil
No application fee to lodge a protection review. One becomes payable if it is unsuccessful.
Tribunal review timeframes, reviews finalised October 2025 to March 2026
Migration reviews
Protection reviews
50% finalised within
18 months
3 years 1 month
95% finalised within
34 months
5 years 4 months
Upfront application fee
Around $3,727
Nil
Fee if unsuccessful
Already paid
Becomes payable
Partial refund if successful
Half the fee
No fee to refund
These figures are published by the Tribunal and are a guide to what has already been finalised, not a forecast for any individual matter. What they establish is that a protection review is a years long process rather than a months long one, and that has to be planned for rather than discovered.
The wait is not dead time. It is the window in which the evidence that was thin at refusal gets built, in which country conditions may change, and in which circumstances arising after the refusal can be put before the Tribunal. Applicants who treat the years as a queue rather than a preparation period arrive at the hearing no better placed than they were at the refusal.
The Department applies a 1.4% surcharge to online card payments, which adds approximately $164 to an $11,710 charge.
Department charges are set by the Department of Home Affairs and typically increase on 1 July each year. Use the Department's visa pricing estimator or the current visa pricing table to confirm the exact charge for your circumstances.
The wait is not dead time. It is the window in which the evidence that was thin at refusal gets built, in which country conditions may change, and in which circumstances arising after the refusal can be put before the Tribunal. Applicants who treat the years as a queue rather than a preparation period arrive at the hearing no better placed than they were at the refusal.
The Department applies a 1.4% surcharge to online card payments, which adds approximately $164 to an $11,710 charge.
Department charges are set by the Department of Home Affairs and typically increase on 1 July each year. Use the Department's visa pricing estimator or the current visa pricing table to confirm the exact charge for your circumstances.
Get a written quote for professional fees before you commit to anything
The Hearing
What Happens at the Tribunal Hearing
Short answer
A Tribunal member hears from you directly, in person or by video, with an interpreter if you need one. They will have read the file, including the delegate's reasons and the interview record, and they will focus on the findings that led to the refusal.
A Tribunal member hears from you directly, in person or by video, with an interpreter if you need one. They will have read the file, including the delegate's reasons and the interview record, and they will focus on the findings that led to the refusal.
What happens at a protection review hearing
Feature
Position
Who decides
A Tribunal member, independent of the Department
Format
In person or by video, with an interpreter if required
New evidence
Permitted, including everything arising since the refusal
Adverse information
Must be put to you with an opportunity to respond
Witnesses
You may call them
Representation
You may be represented
Possible outcomes
Affirm, vary, set aside and substitute, or remit with directions
The member is required to put adverse information to you and give you a chance to respond. That is the moment the review turns on. An answer given at the hearing carries considerably more weight than the same explanation offered in writing afterwards.
You can call witnesses and you can be represented. Because years will have passed since the delegate's interview, you will be asked about the same events again, and consistency across that gap is precisely what is being assessed. Rereading your own earlier statements before the hearing is essential.
Interpreting matters as much here as it did at the interview. If the interpreting is wrong, say so during the hearing rather than afterwards. See The Protection Visa Interview.
You can call witnesses and you can be represented. Because years will have passed since the delegate's interview, you will be asked about the same events again, and consistency across that gap is precisely what is being assessed. Rereading your own earlier statements before the hearing is essential.
Interpreting matters as much here as it did at the interview. If the interpreting is wrong, say so during the hearing rather than afterwards. See The Protection Visa Interview.
The interview is where these claims are decided. Preparation is the difference and it takes more than a few days.
Who We Act For
Where Our Protection Review Clients Come From
Short answer
We act on protection reviews for people from every region. Nationality does not establish a claim and it never has. What a review turns on is the specific findings the delegate made and whether they can be answered with evidence and argument.
Country conditions also move across a review that takes three years. A situation that was arguably safe at the date of refusal may not be at the date of hearing, and the Tribunal decides on the position as it stands then, not as it stood when the delegate decided.
We act on protection reviews for people from every region. Nationality does not establish a claim and it never has. What a review turns on is the specific findings the delegate made and whether they can be answered with evidence and argument.
Country conditions also move across a review that takes three years. A situation that was arguably safe at the date of refusal may not be at the date of hearing, and the Tribunal decides on the position as it stands then, not as it stood when the delegate decided.
Bangladesh
Cambodia
China
Colombia
Egypt
Fiji
India
Indonesia
Iran
Lebanon
Malaysia
Myanmar
Nepal
Pakistan
Russia
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Vietnam
Not listed? It makes no difference. Nationality is not a criterion, and there is no country list that qualifies or disqualifies a claim.
Three years is long enough for a country to change. That is assessed at the hearing, not at the refusal.
Evidence
What Evidence Wins a Protection Review
Short answer
One thing above all others: a direct answer to the specific findings in the refusal. The Tribunal has read the delegate's reasons. A review that resubmits the original material without engaging with why it was rejected is a review that will be decided the same way.
One thing above all others: a direct answer to the specific findings in the refusal. The Tribunal has read the delegate's reasons. A review that resubmits the original material without engaging with why it was rejected is a review that will be decided the same way.
The Delegate's Findings, Answered One by One
Take the refusal apart line by line. Every adverse finding needs a response and, where possible, a document behind it. If the delegate found your account of a particular event implausible, that event is where the review effort goes, not the parts they accepted.
Explaining the Inconsistencies
Most protection refusals rest on inconsistencies between the statement, the interview and the documents. Each one has an explanation: interpreting error, trauma affecting recall, a question misunderstood, a date recorded wrongly. Those explanations belong in a written submission before the hearing, not improvised at it.
Everything Since the Refusal
Across three years a great deal accumulates: documents obtained from home, news of what has happened to family members, medical and psychological reports, evidence of continued threats, and country conditions that have deteriorated. This material the delegate never saw and it is often decisive.
Current Country Information
The Tribunal decides on conditions as they stand at the hearing. Country information from the date of the delegate's decision is out of date by definition. Current reporting, engaging directly with whatever source the delegate relied on, is a core part of a review submission.
Documents Commonly Required
The refusal letter and the delegate's full statement of reasons
The Department file, including the interview recording or transcript
A written submission answering each adverse finding in turn
An explanation for every inconsistency the delegate relied on
A psychological or medical report where trauma affected recall or disclosure
Documents obtained from your country since the refusal
Evidence of what has happened to family members since you left
Current country information, engaging with whatever the delegate relied on
Statements from witnesses who can attend the hearing
A submission arguing complementary protection where it was not argued before
Accredited English translations of every document not in English
Lodge inside the period first. The evidence and submissions can be built afterwards.
Refusals
Why Do Protection Reviews Fail
Short answer
Most failed reviews lose before the merits are reached, by missing the period. Of those that are heard, the ones that fail generally repeat the original application without engaging with why it was refused, or arrive at a hearing three years later with the same evidence and a less consistent memory.
Most failed reviews lose before the merits are reached, by missing the period. Of those that are heard, the ones that fail generally repeat the original application without engaging with why it was refused, or arrive at a hearing three years later with the same evidence and a less consistent memory.
Common Refusal Grounds
The review application lodged outside the period, which cannot be extended
The deadline counted from the date the letter was read rather than the notification date
The same material resubmitted, without engaging with the delegate's findings
No written submission, leaving the member to assemble the case from documents
Inconsistencies never explained, so the delegate's reasoning stands unanswered
New inconsistencies created at the hearing, years after the events, without rereading the file
Country information from the date of refusal rather than the date of hearing
Witnesses who could not attend, or whose evidence did not match the account
Complementary protection still not argued in the alternative
A Tribunal request for information answered late or not at all
If the Tribunal Affirms the Refusal
If the Tribunal affirms the refusal, three narrower options remain: judicial review in the Federal Circuit and Family Court within 35 days, a request that the Minister exercise the intervention power, or a request under section 48B to lift the section 48A bar. Each is harder than review and each has its own deadline.
Speak To Our Lawyers
Get Clear Answers Before You Lodge
Thank you! Your submission has been received!
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
The Process
How to Appeal a Protection Visa Refusal
Short answer
The review application goes to the Administrative Review Tribunal, not the Department, and it can be lodged online. There is no upfront fee for a protection review. The single most important thing is that a valid application goes in within the period. Everything else can follow.
The review application goes to the Administrative Review Tribunal, not the Department, and it can be lodged online. There is no upfront fee for a protection review. The single most important thing is that a valid application goes in within the period. Everything else can follow.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
01
Find the Notification Date
Not the date you opened the letter. Work from the date you are taken to have been notified, which the deeming rules fix by law.
02
Calculate the Deadline Today
Twenty eight days in the community, seven working days in detention, shorter for character. Diarise it with a reminder five days out.
03
Lodge Within the Period Even if Nothing Is Ready
There is no fee to lodge a protection review. A valid application inside the period preserves everything. A perfect application lodged late preserves nothing.
04
Secure Your Bridging Visa
Lodging within the period generally allows a further bridging visa with work rights. Confirm it is granted and check the conditions.
05
Obtain the Department File
Including the interview recording or transcript. You cannot answer findings you have not read in full, and interpreting problems often only become visible here.
06
Analyse Every Adverse Finding
Take the refusal apart line by line. Each finding needs a response and, where possible, a document. That analysis determines the whole review strategy.
07
Build the Evidence Across the Wait
Three years is a long time. Documents from home, what has happened to family, medical and psychological reports, deteriorating country conditions.
08
File Submissions and Prepare for the Hearing
Reread your own earlier statements before you go in. You will be asked about the same events years later, and consistency across that gap is what is being tested.
There is no upfront application fee for a protection review. A fee becomes payable if the review is unsuccessful. Cost should never be the reason a valid application is not lodged inside the period.
Lodge inside the period. Get the deadline confirmed today, before anything else.
After the Tribunal
What Are the Options if the Tribunal Affirms
Short answer
Three, and they are narrower than review. Judicial review in the Federal Circuit and Family Court within 35 days, which examines legal error only. A request that the Minister exercise the intervention power. Or a request under section 48B to lift the section 48A bar so a fresh protection application can be made.
Judicial review is not a second appeal. The Court does not reweigh evidence or decide whether the Tribunal was right on the facts. It asks whether the decision was lawfully made: whether a relevant matter was ignored, procedural fairness denied, the criteria misconstrued, or a finding made without evidence capable of supporting it. If an error is found the matter goes back to the Tribunal, not to a grant.
Ministerial intervention is discretionary, personal and non-compellable. The Minister has published instructions telling the Department which requests to refer and which to finalise without referral. Two of those instructions matter enormously to protection clients and almost nobody explains them.
First, a request that raises claims only in relation to Australia's non-refoulement obligations is treated as inappropriate to refer. Restating the protection claim to the Minister is therefore the one thing that will not work. Second, where a protection visa has already been refused, the instructions themselves point to a request under section 48B instead. Framing the request correctly is the whole exercise.
Three, and they are narrower than review. Judicial review in the Federal Circuit and Family Court within 35 days, which examines legal error only. A request that the Minister exercise the intervention power. Or a request under section 48B to lift the section 48A bar so a fresh protection application can be made.
Judicial review is not a second appeal. The Court does not reweigh evidence or decide whether the Tribunal was right on the facts. It asks whether the decision was lawfully made: whether a relevant matter was ignored, procedural fairness denied, the criteria misconstrued, or a finding made without evidence capable of supporting it. If an error is found the matter goes back to the Tribunal, not to a grant.
Ministerial intervention is discretionary, personal and non-compellable. The Minister has published instructions telling the Department which requests to refer and which to finalise without referral. Two of those instructions matter enormously to protection clients and almost nobody explains them.
First, a request that raises claims only in relation to Australia's non-refoulement obligations is treated as inappropriate to refer. Restating the protection claim to the Minister is therefore the one thing that will not work. Second, where a protection visa has already been refused, the instructions themselves point to a request under section 48B instead. Framing the request correctly is the whole exercise.
Tribunal affirmed the refusal? Each of the three remaining routes runs on its own deadline. Get advice immediately.
How We Help
How My Migration Lawyers Assists With a Protection Visa Refusal
Short Answer
We confirm the deadline, lodge inside it, obtain the file, take the refusal apart finding by finding, build the evidence across the wait, file submissions, and appear at the hearing with you. If the Tribunal affirms, we advise on all three remaining routes.
We confirm the deadline, lodge inside it, obtain the file, take the refusal apart finding by finding, build the evidence across the wait, file submissions, and appear at the hearing with you. If the Tribunal affirms, we advise on all three remaining routes.
1
Confirming the Deadline in Writing
We work out the date you are taken to have been notified and count the period from there. Getting this wrong by a day ends the matter, so we confirm it to you in writing before anything else happens.
2
Lodging Inside the Period
There is no upfront fee for a protection review, so there is no reason to delay lodgement while evidence is gathered. We file a valid application inside the period and build the case afterwards.
3
Bridging Visa Protection
Lodging within the period generally allows a further bridging visa with work rights. We make sure it is applied for, granted, and that you understand what conditions attach.
4
Obtaining the Department File
Including the interview recording or transcript. Interpreting problems, questions that were misunderstood, and findings not supported by what was actually said only become visible once the file is read.
5
Analysing Every Adverse Finding
We take the refusal apart line by line and map each finding to the evidence needed to answer it. That analysis is the review strategy and everything else follows from it.
6
Explaining the Inconsistencies
Interpreting error, trauma affecting recall, a question misunderstood, a date recorded wrongly. Each explanation is documented and put in a submission rather than improvised at the hearing.
7
Psychological and Medical Evidence
Where trauma affected recall or delayed disclosure, an expert report addressing that directly is often the single most valuable document in a protection review.
8
Building Evidence Across the Wait
A protection review takes years. We use that period rather than waiting through it: documents obtained from home, what has happened to family, deteriorating country conditions.
9
Current Country Information
The Tribunal decides on conditions at the date of hearing. We engage with whatever source the delegate relied on and put the current position in front of the member.
10
Arguing Complementary Protection
Where only the refugee criterion was argued before the Department, section 36(2)(aa) can still be raised at the Tribunal. That is one of the more common ways these matters are salvaged.
11
Written Submissions
A submission addressing the criteria, the adverse findings and the country information, so the member is not left to assemble the case from a folder of documents.
12
Hearing Preparation
You will be asked about events years after you last described them. We take you back through your own earlier statements so the gap does not create new inconsistencies.
13
Attending the Hearing With You
We appear, put the case, and raise interpreting or procedural problems at the time rather than after the decision.
14
Advice if the Tribunal Affirms
Judicial review within 35 days, ministerial intervention, or a section 48B request to lift the section 48A bar. We assess which is genuinely available and act inside whichever deadline applies.
What Working With Us Looks Like
Lawyers, not agents
Your matter is handled by Australian lawyers, and everything you tell us is covered by legal professional privilege.
Nothing is reported
We do not report to the Department, and nothing you tell us reaches your home country or your embassy.
Fees quoted in writing
You know the professional fee before you engage us. There is no upfront Tribunal fee on a protection review.
One firm from start to finish
The same team runs the assessment, the statement, the lodgement, the interview and any review. Nothing is handed off midway.
The period is running and it cannot be extended. Send us the refusal letter today.
Section 48A
Section 48A and Section 48B Explained
Short answer
Section 48A bars a person in Australia from making a further protection visa application once one has been refused. Section 48B allows the Minister personally to lift that bar where it is in the public interest. The power is discretionary, non-compellable, and there is no obligation even to consider a request.
A section 48B request is not a re-run of the refused claim. What has to be shown is new material that was not before the Department or the Tribunal, and which raises a genuine question about whether Australia owes protection obligations. New country conditions, new evidence of what has happened to family members, a diagnosis explaining why an account was given inconsistently, or events that have occurred since the Tribunal decided. Where a claim has simply been restated with no new material, the request will be finalised without ever reaching the Minister.
Section 48A bars a person in Australia from making a further protection visa application once one has been refused. Section 48B allows the Minister personally to lift that bar where it is in the public interest. The power is discretionary, non-compellable, and there is no obligation even to consider a request.
A section 48B request is not a re-run of the refused claim. What has to be shown is new material that was not before the Department or the Tribunal, and which raises a genuine question about whether Australia owes protection obligations. New country conditions, new evidence of what has happened to family members, a diagnosis explaining why an account was given inconsistently, or events that have occurred since the Tribunal decided. Where a claim has simply been restated with no new material, the request will be finalised without ever reaching the Minister.
Section 48B turns on new material, not on repeating the claim. That distinction decides the request.
Questions
Protection Visa Refusal Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to the questions Indonesians applicants ask most often. See also our 30 protection visa FAQs and 30 LGBT protection visa FAQs.
How Long Do I Have to Appeal a Protection Visa Refusal
Twenty eight days if you are in the community, seven working days if you are in immigration detention, and shorter still for a character related refusal. The period runs from the date you are taken to have been notified and it cannot be extended.
Does It Cost Anything to Appeal
There is no upfront application fee to lodge a protection review at the Tribunal. A fee becomes payable if the review is unsuccessful. Other migration reviews carry a standard fee in the order of $3,727, so protection is treated differently.
How Long Does a Protection Review Take
A long time. On Tribunal figures for reviews finalised between October 2025 and March 2026, half of protection reviews took more than three years and one month, and 95% took up to five years and four months. Migration reviews by comparison ran at 18 and 34 months.
Can I Stay in Australia While the Review Runs
Usually yes. Lodging within the period generally allows a further bridging visa, and work rights usually continue. That is one of the strongest reasons to lodge inside the period rather than deciding later.
Can I Apply for Another Protection Visa if I Am Refused
Generally no. Section 48A of the Migration Act bars a further protection visa application once one has been refused while you were in Australia. Only the Minister can lift that bar personally under section 48B. Review is usually the only option, not one option among several.
Can I Give the Tribunal New Evidence
Yes. The Tribunal conducts merits review and decides the claim afresh on all the material before it, including evidence that did not exist when you applied. Across a review that takes years, that new material is often decisive.
Does the Delegate's Credibility Finding Bind the Tribunal
No. The Tribunal is independent of the Department and forms its own view of you at its own hearing. An adverse credibility finding by a delegate is not binding, which is why a hearing is a genuine second opportunity rather than a formality.
What Happens at the Tribunal Hearing
A member hears from you directly, in person or by video, with an interpreter if needed. They will have read the file and will focus on the findings that led to the refusal. Adverse information must be put to you with a chance to respond, and you can call witnesses.
What if the Tribunal Affirms the Refusal
Three narrower options remain: judicial review in the Federal Circuit and Family Court within 35 days, a request that the Minister exercise the intervention power, or a request under section 48B to lift the section 48A bar. Each has its own deadline.
What Is the Difference Between Judicial Review and Tribunal Review
The Tribunal decides the claim again on the facts and accepts new evidence. The Court does not. It asks only whether the decision was lawfully made, and if it finds an error it sends the matter back to the Tribunal rather than granting a visa.
Will Ministerial Intervention Help if I Just Restate My Claim
No. The Minister's published instructions treat a request raising claims only in relation to Australia's non-refoulement obligations as inappropriate to refer. Restating the protection claim is the one approach that will not work, and the instructions point to section 48B instead.
What if I Missed the Deadline
The Tribunal has no power to extend and a late application is invalid rather than weak. What remains is judicial review where the decision discloses a legal error, ministerial intervention, or a section 48B request. All three are harder than review and all run on their own deadlines.
About the Reviewer
Who Reviewed This Page
Weiwei Zhang is an Australian lawyer practising exclusively in Australian migration law and is the Principal Lawyer at My Migration Lawyers. She reviews the firm's published legal guidance for accuracy.
Weiwei Zhang
Managing Director and Principal Lawyer, My Migration Lawyers
Weiwei Zhang
Principal Lawyer
Weiwei Zhang is an Australian lawyer practising exclusively in Australian migration law and is the Principal Lawyer at My Migration Lawyers. She reviews the firm's published legal guidance for accuracy.
Last Reviewed
16 September 2026
Question not answered here? Ask our lawyers directly.