Appeals and Court Proceedings

Overview

With over 20 years of experience in Australian migration law, NB Migration is well-equipped to handle your immigration needs. If your Australian visa application has been denied or you’ve experienced an unwelcome result on an application or appeal, our skilled immigration team is ready to help.

Our registered migration agents and lawyers can offer valuable advice, create compelling submissions for the Department of Immigration and Border Protection, and represent you at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal or the Federal Court.

How we can help

At NB Migration, our expertise is reflected in our successful history with Ministerial Intervention submissions, reviews at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, as well as handling judicial review applications and hearings.

We can help if you:

  • Have received an invitation to comment or a request for more information on your application
  • Wish to apply for a review of a decision by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection
  • Need advice concerning Ministerial Intervention applications and/or drafting Ministerial Intervention submissions to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection
  • Require assistance with judicial review applications by the Federal Circuit Court of Australia
  • Need representation before the Federal Court of Australia

 

Our specialist team of migration agents are here to help. With extensive experience and a long track record of success, we can review your case, and help guide you through your options. Book a free initial consultation today to discover how we can help you find a way forward.

Administrative Appeals Tribunal

If your application for an Australian visa, citizenship, company nomination or sponsorship has been denied, or if your visa or sponsorship has been revoked, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal may provide you with a chance to challenge the decision.

Our team at NB Migration can guide you in determining whether your case qualifies for review, assess the probable success rate, and explore other potential alternatives.

How we advocate for you

We can help you through the entire process, and during our initial consultation we will provide a clear understanding of the potential costs, the projected timeline, and an evaluation of the strength of your case.

We can assist you in obtaining the documents that influence the decision-making process, examine your application materials, apply to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, and prepare you for a Tribunal hearing. If necessary, we can represent you during these proceedings as well.

What is the Administrative Appeals Tribunal?

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal is a legal entity that reviews administrative actions independently. These actions include decisions on visa applications and other visa-related issues made by officers from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

The Tribunal has the authority to alter a decision, overturn and replace it with a new one, or send a decision back to the original decision-maker for re-evaluation.

During a review, the Tribunal examines all facts, laws, and policies related to reaching a legally sound decision or determining the most suitable one when multiple correct decisions are possible.

The Tribunal is designed to provide a review process that is accessible, just, fair, cost-effective, informal, and swift. Typically, you will have a time limit of 28 days to submit an appeal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal after receiving the decision to be reviewed.

Contact NB Migration today to discuss your situation.

Ministerial Intervention

If the Tribunal decides to uphold the decision under review, determines that the Department’s decision should remain unchanged, or concludes that it does not have the authority to review a decision, then you may consider an application for Ministerial Intervention.

How does Ministerial Intervention work?

The Migration Act 1958 authorises the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection to replace a decision made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal with a more favourable one for the applicant. This can be done if the Minister believes it serves the public interest.

In exercising the powers under the Migration Act 1958, the Minister follows certain guiding principles and may take into account factors such as:

  • Whether applying the relevant legislation would lead to unfair or unreasonable results in a particular case.
  • If strong, compassionate circumstances exist, and a failure to recognise them would cause irreparable harm and continuing hardship to an Australian citizen or family unit
  • Any exceptional economic, scientific, cultural or other benefit to Australia would result from the visa applicant being permitted to remain in Australia
  • If the applicant can demonstrate that the length of time he or she has been present in Australia has given rise to a sufficient level of integration into the Australian community.

 

How we advocate for you

At NB Migration, our migration agents and immigration lawyers are experienced in assisting with and advising on Ministerial Intervention Applications.

Please note, that your application for Ministerial Intervention typically needs to be submitted within 28 days of receiving the decision notification. If you would like to discuss your case and see if we can assist, please book a complimentary initial consultation.

Contact NB Migration today to discuss your situation.

Federal Circuit Court

The Federal Circuit Court has the authority to review a decision to ensure it’s made in accordance with the law, specifically checking for any jurisdictional errors.

Although the Federal Circuit Court operates independently from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection’s decision-makers, it doesn’t assess the merits of individual visa applications, but is an avenue for review if you believe a decision was not made in accordance with the law.

What can the Federal Circuit Court review?

The Federal Circuit Court of Australia has the authority to review certain decisions made under the Migration Act 1958, which includes those made by the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection as well as the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

If the Court detects a jurisdictional (legal) error, it can send the case back to the original decision-maker and stop the Minister from acting based on that decision.

However, the Court will not re-evaluate the details and rationale behind the visa application or issue a visa itself. It also won’t consider new factual information unless it’s pertinent to determining if the decision-maker made a jurisdictional error. 

How we advocate for you

At NB Migration, our immigration lawyers are experienced in providing representation in cases before the Federal Circuit Court.

Please note that a review application must be submitted within 35 days from the date of the migration decision, and it’s usually required to make an additional visa application.

We invite you to schedule a complimentary initial consultation if you’re interested in exploring how we can help with your case.

Reach out to NB Migration today to discuss your circumstances.

 

The Federal Court of Australia

Under certain conditions, a migration issue might be escalated to the Federal Court of Australia. It’s important to note that this differs from Federal Circuit Court proceedings.

A decision in which the Federal Court may exercise its jurisdiction includes the suspension, cancellation, revocation or refusal of a visa and also situations where there is a failure or refusal to make a decision.

The Federal Court of Australia doesn’t reassess the merits of a migration decision. However, it can determine whether a jurisdictional error influenced the migration decision. Such errors might include the decision-maker focusing on an incorrect issue, posing an inaccurate question, overlooking pertinent information, depending on irrelevant data, or misapplying the law to the facts in a way that impacts their authority.

Similar to applications to the Federal Circuit Court, if you wish for the Federal Court to review a migration decision, your application must be submitted within 35 days from the date of the original migration decision. Additionally, you may need to make another visa application.

What power does the Federal Court have?

Under to the Migration Act 1958, the Federal Court is granted original jurisdiction regarding a migration decision in several scenarios. These include instances where the Federal Circuit Court transfers an ongoing proceeding related to the decision to the Federal Court.

It also has jurisdiction over what is called a privative clause decision, or what appears to be such a decision. The same applies if the Minister personally makes a privative clause decision.

A privative clause is a legal measure designed to make certain decisions immune from judicial review. The Federal Court has jurisdiction in certain circumstances to ensure that judicial errors have not been made.

The Federal Court holds jurisdiction in instances where the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975 provides it with such powers over the decision.

Initial Consultation

Our team of registered migration agents and immigration lawyers are experienced and skilled at representing clients in cases that require an appeal, and finding a way forward even if you can’t see one.

If you would like to discuss your options to appeal a decision, book a complimentary initial consultation with our team today.

Book a free consultation today and let us help you find a way forward.