Services

Our team has over 13 years experienced navigating the Australian Immigration legal system.

Our experienced immigration lawyers are able to help with complex migration matters such as Merit review applications at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) Judicial Review application to the Federal Court and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) and Federal Court of Australia (FCA).

We can help with:

Receiving a Visa Cancellation or Refusal:

A Visa application may be refused for a number of different grounds. In these cases, Visa Cancellation or Refusals notice will include information on if the decision made is reviewable, and if so, the timeframe in which this appeal will need to be made to the AAT. Usually this is within 28 days of the original decision date. Time frames however can vary depending on the issue, so we recommend contacting us as soon as possible.

A Visa application may be refused or cancelled for a number of different reasons. We will be able to help you assess your situation and the best way to proceed.

The appeal processes for Migration Matters (AAT, Federal Court Applications):

AAT Tribunal Appeals Representation

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) is an independent review body that reviews visa refusal and cancellation decisions made by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). The AAT has the power to examine the merits of the visa refusal or cancellation based on the merits of the case. It is essentially a ‘last opportunity’ to put forward your arguments and evidence, including introducing fresh evidence for consideration.

The AAT has the authority to reconsider the case afresh (de novo) and in essence steps into the primary decision-makers place to reconsider all the evidence before them and any submissions put forward in support of your application.

Federal Court Appeals Applications

Decisions which are made personally by the Minister, under the Migration Act, or on review of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT), can be reviewed by either the Federal Court and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA) or Federal Court of Australia (FCA) via application for judicial review.

The role of the Court in a judicial review is only to decide if the decision that was made is lawful, not if the best decision was made in the matter. Determining if a visa related decision is lawful is a complex issue, and so the majority of judicial review applications are dismissed.
We can assess your circumstances and your AAT decision to determine your best options and provide an opinion on whether the AAT may have made a legal error in your case that would meet the threshold of what can successfully be argued at the Federal Courts.
We will represent you and your matter in the courts and present the strongest, most effective legal arguments and evidence we can create for your case.

Other Services:

Schedule 3 Waivers for Partner Visas

We prepare applications to avoid Schedule 3 Partner visa refusals.

If you do not hold a substantive visa, or only hold a bridging visa, or have had a previous visa refused and you apply for an onshore partner visa subclass 820/801, this enlivens the Schedule 3 provisions of the Migration Regulations 1994 which require substantial additional requirements to be met to be granted an onshore partner visa.

Most applicants are not aware that they must either meet the Schedule 3 requirement for the visa to be granted or meet the requirement for a waiver of the criteria by demonstrating ‘compelling reasons’ why the Schedule 3 criteria should not be applied.

If you have received a schedule 3 warning letter you may have only 28 days to provide legal arguments and evidence.

Partner Visas and Domestic Violence

Australian visa law has special considerations for situations where a sponsored partner becomes the victim of domestic abuse. In many cases, the abuse victim is able to proceed to permanent residency in Australia even if the Australian sponsoring partner is no longer in the relationship due to established concerns or evidence of domestic violence.

If you are in this situation, we can help you understand and work with the special provisions of the Australian visa laws that are intended to benefit victims of domestic abuse who are married to Australians but have not completed the path to permanent residence. As always, all information given to us is held in the strictest confidence.

PIC 4020 Fraud Waivers

We can assist you to challenge PIC 4020 fraud allegations.

If you have received a section 57 letter from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), accusing you of providing false or misleading information or “bogus documents” you are at immediate risk of a visa refusal, and in addition, you may receive a 3 or 10-year ban from Australia.

PIC (Public Interest Criteria) 4020 is one of the harshest, strictest regulations in Australian immigration law. What makes the PIC 4020 regulations so challenging is that DHA is not required to “prove” that you have provided false or misleading information or bogus document(s), they only need to have a reasonable belief that you may have done so.

A mistake or incorrect information on a visa application or an employer verification reference check can lead to catastrophic results for a visa application and a ban period from Australia.

PIC 4020 applies not only to information provided by applicants to DHA but also to information provided by applicants to the AAT and Medical Officer of the Commonwealth (MOC).

Ministerial Intervention Applications

Ministerial Intervention provides certain persons whose visa applications have been refused and who were unsuccessful at the review tribunal an opportunity to request that the Minister personally intervene and either grant the visa or make a more favourable decision than the initial refusal.

The Minister’s power is not available unless and until a decision has been made at a review tribunal.
We can also assist with requests to the tribunal’s in assisting in referring your case to the Minister for favourable consideration, if we believe your review application will not be successful.

The Minister’s power to intervene is conditioned by the jurisdictional fact that the Minister must believe it to be in the public interest to intervene. Because the Minister is not bound by certain parts of the Act and Regulations, the Minister may grant almost any visa.

How We Can Help

Our goal is to help our clients achieve the best possible outcome for their matter, in both the short term and long term. Our team can discuss and review your case with you and explain and guide you on the best course of action. In some cases the chance of a successful appeal and outcome may be very low, so it is important to fully understand the advice from our Migration Lawyers to be able to make an informed decision.

Following the advice, if you wish to lodge an appeal, our Migration lawyers will then be able to help guide you through this process, review and compile all of the relevant documents and information, prepare submissions for your application as well as managing this appeals process for you, including representation at any required and associated hearings.

If you wish to seek expert assistance in migration matters and appeals please contact our team today via our contact form here, or by emailing us at [email protected]

To find out more about the general Australian Visa and Immigration process, please visit Point Migration Agency, or contact them at [email protected] to arrange a consultation.