If the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) cancelled your visa or refused your application for a visa, it is usually possible to apply for a review of the decision to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT).

The AAT will:

1. Reconsider your cash fresh, stepping into the shoes of the original decision maker and reconsidering the merits of your case.
2. Consider the information and documentation you supplied to the DIBP, as well as any further material or information submitted to the AAT following your application for review.
3. Review the merits of the Department’s decision by reconsidering the facts, law and policy aspects relevant to the original decision, and come to a decision as to whether the original decision is correct or not.

It is very common, with legal assistance, for an applicant who has been refused a visa or had a visa cancelled by the DIBP to successfully have an adverse decision overturned at the AAT.

The legal criteria for any given visa can be very complex, and the relevant rules and eligibility criteria are constantly changing.  Most visa applications that fail can be traced back to one of the following problems, or some combination of such problems:

1. Incomplete or inaccurate information or supporting documentation provided with an application
2. Poorly, ambiguous or incompletely presented applications
3. The visa applicant not realizing what sort of evidence and documentation they were supposed to supply with the application
4. The case officer who assessed the application misunderstood some aspect of the application
5. Not presenting documents and information that they strictly comply with legislative requirements
6. Poor quality supporting materials that cause the case officer to believe the visa applicant’s request is not sincere or genuine
7. Poor advice from unregistered or inexperienced advisors, or poor advice from the DIBP

The AAT offers applicants a chance to address whatever problems caused the visa refusal or cancellation.

When you retain our firm, we will prepare a comprehensive review package to be sent to the AAT in preparation for your hearing, and attend your hearing date to support you and provide legal submissions to the Tribunal Member.

Our services include:

1. Preparation and lodgement of your appeal to the AAT and handling of all communications from the AAT regarding your case
2. A comprehensive review of your application to the DIBP and the reason(s) for the refusal or cancellation of your visa, identifying issues and problems to be addressed
3. Review of your existing supporting documents and suggestions for improvement
4. Assistance with preparation of new supporting documents to be submitted to the AAT
5. Review of previous legal cases and precedents that may support your visa application, and drafting of legal submissions to the AAT
6. Attendance at your AAT hearing to support you and provide legal submissions to the Tribunal Member
7. Attending to any post-hearing issues raised by the AAT