Visa 482 Refused: AAT Appeal and Next Steps

Receiving a visa 482 refusal does not mean the road has ended. Depending on the reason for refusal and the timing, there may be one or more ways to handle the situation. The first step is to read the refusal decision carefully to understand the legal basis of that decision correctly.

Understanding the refusal decision

A refusal decision from DHA must clearly state:

• The legal provision relied on to refuse
• The specific reasons (insufficient experience, English not met, a problem with the nomination, and so on)
• The deadline and the right to appeal (if any)

Not every decision can be appealed — only certain types of decision fall within the jurisdiction of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). The refusal decision usually states clearly whether you have a right to AAT review.

Appealing to the AAT

The deadline to lodge

The appeal deadline is 21 working days from the date you receive the refusal notice. This is a hard deadline — if you miss it, the right to appeal is lost entirely.

If you are outside Australia: the deadline may differ — read the notice carefully.

A bridging visa during the appeal

If you are in Australia with a visa still in effect when you lodge the appeal, you usually receive a Bridging Visa A (BVA) automatically — allowing you to stay lawfully while the AAT reviews your case. A BVA usually keeps the same work rights.

If you want to leave Australia while waiting for the AAT, you must apply for a Bridging Visa B (BVB) first — you cannot apply from overseas after you have already left.

The cost of an AAT appeal

The AAT charges a lodgement fee. If you win, the fee may be partly refunded. If you lose, the fee is not refunded. Check the current fee on the AAT website — the amount changes periodically.

The AAT review process

The AAT reviews the DHA’s decision afresh — this is merit review (reviewing the substance), not judicial review. The AAT can:

• Affirm the DHA’s refusal decision
• Set it aside and substitute an approval decision
• Set it aside and remit it to DHA for reconsideration

The wait for an AAT decision on an employment visa case usually takes several months to more than a year, depending on the case volume.

During the AAT process, you can provide further documents, respond to the DHA’s reasons for refusal, and there may be a hearing.

After an AAT refusal

If the AAT still affirms the refusal, there are two more roads:

Judicial review at the Federal Court

Judicial review does not review the substance of the decision — it only considers whether there was a legal error in the AAT review process (a jurisdictional error). This is a complex road, high in cost and with a low chance of success if there is no genuine legal error.

Lodging a new application

In many cases, the more practical approach is to lodge a new application with additional documents that have resolved the original reason for refusal. For example:

• Refused for English not met → re-sit the test and lodge a new application
• Refused for insufficient experience → gather more evidence of experience
• Refused for a problem with the nomination → the company fixes the nomination and re-lodges

Conditions for staying in Australia after a refusal

If you are refused and do not appeal or are not eligible to appeal, you must leave Australia. If you stay after your visa expires and the BVA ends, you become an unlawful non-citizen — which can seriously affect your ability to apply for Australian visas in future.

The first steps to take immediately

1. Read the refusal decision carefully and identify the appeal deadline
2. Contact a registered migration agent (RMA) immediately — time is very short
3. Determine how long the visa you currently hold remains valid
4. If you want to appeal: lodge the AAT application before the deadline; you can add documents later

You should not handle an AAT appeal yourself without experience — mistakes in the process can affect the outcome.