Visa Refusal & Appeal Agents

These MARA-registered migration agents publish visa refusal & appeal work among their practice areas. Practice details are drawn from each agent's own published information; always confirm current scope directly. Submit one brief and agents respond with availability and fees (comparing is free; consults typically $150–$300).

Get matched in 2 minutes

292 MARA-registered agents in this category. Free to compare. Pay only the consultation fee charged by the agent you choose.

Visa refused? The review clock is already running.

Merits review sits with the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). Missing the deadline permanently ends the right to review, so the agents below are the ones to speak to this week, not next month.

28 days
Standard review deadline for most onshore refusals, counted from when you are taken to have been notified.
14 days
If you were in immigration detention when the decision was notified.
9 days
Character-ground decisions reviewed under s500 of the Migration Act.

Send your refusal to review agents Application fee $3,727 at the ART, half refunded if the decision is set aside. Facts as at July 2026.

What to do this week

  1. Find the date on the letter. The refusal letter states the exact time limit for your decision type. Write it down. The tribunal generally cannot extend it.
  2. Check who has review rights. For some refusals only a sponsor or nominator can apply. Offshore refusals may have no merits review at all. An agent confirms this in the first conversation.
  3. Get an assessment before you pay the fee. The ART application fee is $3,727 and the review does not start until it is paid. An agent can tell you whether a review has realistic prospects, or whether a fresh application is the better route.
  4. Send your refusal to agents who handle reviews. One brief reaches every registered agent listed on this page who handles refusals. The ones who want the case confirm with their consultation fee, usually within the hour.

How merits review works in Australia

Facts as at August 2026, from the Administrative Review Tribunal's published fees and process. Whether review rights exist in a particular case, and whether a review has realistic prospects, are questions for a MARA-registered agent — no listing here says anything about the likely outcome of any case.

Guides for your refusal type

Visa refused: what to do next · ART deadline: the 28, 14 and 9 day rules · Appeal or reapply? · How ART merits review works · Partner visa refused · Student visa refused · 482 refused · Employer nomination refused · 186 nomination refused · Visitor visa refused · The section 48 bar · Schedule 3 waivers

Longest-registered visa refusal & appeal migration agents

Registration year is derived from each agent's MARN — the first two digits encode the year they first registered with OMARA. Longer registration means more years practising under the regulator's Code of Conduct, though the right specialisation matters more than tenure alone.

  1. John William Galloway — registered since 1992 (34+ years, MARN 9254439)
  2. Thay Horn Yim — registered since 1993 (33+ years, MARN 9301040)
  3. Jane Margaret Wilson — registered since 1997 (29+ years, MARN 9791562)
  4. Dean Khaze — registered since 1999 (27+ years, MARN 9902067)
  5. Clinton John Oliver — registered since 2000 (26+ years, MARN 0000391)
  6. Edward Francis — registered since 2000 (26+ years, MARN 0004935)
  7. Windi Yuen Man Ho — registered since 2001 (25+ years, MARN 0106887)
  8. Cyrus Dhanjishaw Mistry — registered since 2001 (25+ years, MARN 0100178)
  9. Mark Jason Glazbrook — registered since 2001 (25+ years, MARN 0100185)
  10. Cathrine Mary Burnett-Wake — registered since 2003 (23+ years, MARN 0324641)

Common questions

What happened to the AAT?
The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and the Immigration Assessment Authority (IAA) were both replaced by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) on 14 October 2024. Migration decisions made on or after that date are reviewed by the ART. The standard review deadline is approximately 28 days from notification — missing it permanently extinguishes review rights, so a registered agent's first conversation should happen the week the refusal arrives.
Should I appeal myself or use an agent?
Refusal cases involve evidence assessment, document submission strategy, hearing preparation, and sometimes Section 359A response drafting. A registered agent can assess whether a review has realistic prospects before you commit to the fee, and manage deadlines that are unforgiving if missed. Pricing varies — Migratio's matching surfaces fee quotes within minutes.
What does MARA-registered mean?
MARA (the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority, sitting within Home Affairs as OMARA) is the federal regulator for Australian migration agents. Registration requires a Graduate Diploma in Australian Migration Law and Practice, ongoing CPD, professional indemnity insurance, and adherence to a binding Code of Conduct. Every agent listed on Migratio is checked against the public MARA register when our data is refreshed — always verify current registration on the official OMARA register.
How does Migratio's matching work?
Tell us about your visa situation once. Migratio sends your brief to every registered agent whose practice matches your visa type and state; agents who want the case confirm within minutes with their consultation fee, and you compare and book the one you prefer. Free for applicants — you pay only the consultation fee of the agent you book, and the platform fee comes out of that fee, not on top of it.
What does it cost to use Migratio?
Nothing for applicants. You pay only the consultation fee charged by the agent you book — across Migratio the median quoted consult is about $220 (most fall between $150 and $275) — plus any agent service fees if you later engage them for your full application. Migratio's platform fee is deducted from the agent's consultation fee, not added to it.

New South Wales · Victoria · Queensland · Western Australia · South Australia · Australian Capital Territory · Northern Territory · Tasmania · All migration agents