7.3 Merits Review: The Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) Mechanics and Time Limits

7.3 Administrative Review Tribunal Migration Review

The Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) commenced on 14 October 2024 and replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. A refusal or cancellation is reviewable only if the Migration Act makes that decision reviewable and the correct person applies, in the correct place and manner, with the required fee, within the statutory period. The decision letter is evidence, not a substitute for the Act.

Intake and standing

At the first appointment obtain the complete decision record, reasons, transmission or service evidence, ImmiAccount and authorised-recipient history, visa and bridging records, current location, detention status, sponsorship or nomination records, and every review notice. Then identify:

1. the statutory decision and reviewable-decision category;
2. who has standing;
3. the applicant’s required location at application and decision;
4. the fee and any reduction route;
5. the notification date and final filing instant; and
6. any special procedure or accelerated timetable.

For certain offshore refusals involving an approved sponsor or nominator, section 338(5) makes the sponsor or nominator—not the offshore visa applicant—the person entitled to seek review. Apply the subsection to the exact visa and sponsorship decision. Do not generalise it to every offshore refusal.

Current time limits

For Part 5 migration decisions whose delegate decision record is dated on or after 14 October 2024, the standard application period is generally 28 days after notification. Section 347 removes the ART’s power to extend the period. Historical decisions require the historical rules, and specialised categories must be checked separately.

Expedited character review is different. Where a reviewable decision under section 501 or subsection 501CA(4) relates to a person in the migration zone, section 500(6B) requires the ART application within nine days after notification. The Tribunal ordinarily must decide that expedited review within 84 days of notification; otherwise the statutory deemed result applies. A mandatory cancellation under subsection 501(3A) is not itself reviewed by the ART: the former holder first uses the statutory revocation process, and an eligible decision not to revoke may be reviewable.

Never reuse the former 21-day, 28-day, and 70-day AAT table for a current post-14 October 2024 decision. Calculate from the governing provision and legally effective notification. Preserve email headers, portal messages, postal records, detention service, and representative appointments. Lodge early enough to resolve payment and technical failure, and keep the receipt and complete filed set.

Nature and powers of merits review

Within its migration jurisdiction, the ART generally re-exercises the decision-making power to reach the correct or preferable decision. It can examine the evidence and applicable law afresh and, where the scheme permits, consider relevant later evidence. That does not mean every fact or document is unrestricted: statutory limits, procedural directions, invitations, confidentiality, and the criteria’s own time requirements still control.

The Migration Act provides powers to affirm, vary, set aside and substitute, or remit with directions in the applicable review Parts. A remittal direction on a criterion binds the Department as the Act provides, but the Department may still need to assess every remaining criterion and current matter. A successful threshold argument is not necessarily a visa grant.

Prepare a criterion matrix and an issues list from the primary reasons. Obtain the Department file where useful, identify adverse material, verify all new evidence, and address credibility and legal changes transparently. The Tribunal’s task is not confined to finding an error in the delegate’s reasons; the applicant must establish the outcome sought under the law the Tribunal must apply.

Student-visa paper reviews from 1 June 2026

Legislative changes effective 1 June 2026 require the ART to decide most affected student-visa refusal reviews without an oral hearing. The procedure can also affect earlier review applications not yet constituted to a member. Limited exceptions apply, including specified criteria and cases that had already progressed to a hearing stage.

The Tribunal can invite written submissions or evidence under the statutory procedure. At intake, determine whether the review falls within the paper class and identify every invitation and response period. Prepare a self-contained written case: chronology, statutory criteria, response to each refusal reason, indexed primary evidence, explanations for inconsistencies, and precise relief. Do not promise that the applicant can repair an incomplete written record at a later hearing.

Communication and closure

Send the client written confirmation of filing, the review number, status and bridging consequences, communication arrangements, evidence plan, change-notification duties, and the limits of the retainer. After decision, verify the operative orders and reasons. A remittal, substitution, affirmation, or withdrawal has different consequences for status, further assessment, judicial review, and file closure.