Prospective Marriage visa review: how the sponsor appeals a 300 refusal at the Administrative Review Tribunal within 28 days
Prospective Marriage visa review is applied for by the sponsor, not the applicant, at the Administrative Review Tribunal within 28 days of notification, with an AUD 3,727 fee (as at 3 October 2026) and no extension of time. Check the refusal letter first: it says whether the decision can be reviewed (Home Affairs partner visa FAQs, updated 25 September 2026). The fee is paid by the same deadline, at the full AUD 3,727 or at 50% (AUD 1,863.50) if the ART accepts a financial-hardship request with supporting documents (ART Fees page; Migration Regulations reg 4.13(4)). A sponsor seeking review of refusals for several family members together pays one fee (Migration Regulations reg 4.13(3)). If the ART sets aside, varies or remits the decision, half the fee is refunded (Migration Regulations reg 4.14). The tribunal is the Administrative Review Tribunal, which replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on 14 October 2024, according to the ART commencement news release.
An Australian migration lawyer can prepare the sponsor's ART application and evidence before the deadline; the steps below show what that work involves. The page on subclass 300 legal help explains how that help works.
This page explains the review rules as at 3 October 2026; it is not advice on any particular refusal.
Need help before the deadline? Contact an Australian migration lawyer directly to check the sponsor’s standing, notification date and documents. The shared enquiry page can send a private question to Australian Migration Lawyers; viewing it does not lodge an ART review.
Review at a glance
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Review applicant | The sponsor — Migration Regulations reg 4.02(5)(r) |
| Deadline | 28 days after notification; 14 days in immigration detention; no extension — Migration Act s 347 |
| Application fee | AUD 3,727 — ART Fees page, as at 3 October 2026 |
| Financial-hardship fee | AUD 1,863.50: AUD 3,727 × 50% — reg 4.13(4) |
| Refund if the review succeeds | 50% if set aside, varied or remitted — reg 4.14 |
| Tribunal | Administrative Review Tribunal, since 14 October 2024 — ART news release |
Deadline rules and ART card
Use the notification and lodgement rules below as a manual guide. This page does not calculate a personal deadline.
Details to establish
- Notification method: email or fax; ImmiAccount; hand delivery; prepaid post within Australia to an Australian address; prepaid post otherwise.
- Relevant date: the transmission, availability or hand-delivery date, or the date on a posted letter.
- Authorised recipient: determine whether one was appointed and notified.
- Immigration detention: determine whether the shorter 14-day limit applies.
- Financial hardship: determine whether an ART fee-reduction request is needed.
If uncertain, plan from the earliest date that could apply and seek individual advice promptly.
Deadline and fee rules
A partner visa with Australian Migration Lawyers usually costs $14,000 plus GST in professional fees, separate from the Home Affairs visa application charges.
Under Migration Act ss 494C–494D, the notification date is the same day for electronic transmission, ImmiAccount availability or hand delivery; seven working days after the letter’s date for qualifying Australian post; otherwise 21 days after the letter’s date. Receipt by an authorised recipient counts as receipt by the sponsor. Postal working days are counted Monday to Friday without skipping public holidays.
The last day to lodge and pay is the notification date plus 28 calendar days, or 14 days in immigration detention, under Migration Act s 347(3). Weekends and public holidays do not move this limit; the ART has no power to extend it under s 347(5).
The fee was AUD 3,727 as at 3 October 2026, or AUD 1,863.50 if the ART accepts a financial-hardship reduction under reg 4.13(4). Requesting the reduction does not mean it is approved.
ART card — rules as at 3 October 2026
| Label | Value |
|---|---|
| Who applies | The sponsor, not the applicant — reg 4.02(5)(r); Migration Act s 347A(1)(d) |
| By when | 28 days after notification; 14 days in immigration detention — s 347(3) |
| Extension | None — s 347(5); ART Immigration and citizenship page |
| Application fee | AUD 3,727 — ART Fees page |
| Financial hardship | 50%, AUD 1,863.50, if accepted; supporting documents and payment by the deadline — reg 4.13(4); ART Fees page |
| Family members refused too | One fee for combined applications — regs 4.12(4), 4.13(3) |
| Refund after the decision | 50% if set aside, varied or remitted — reg 4.14 items 5–6 |
| Refund if invalid | Full fee — ART Fees page |
| Tribunal | Administrative Review Tribunal; replaced the AAT on 14 October 2024 — ART news release |
Illustration: a three-step strip showing the sponsor applying, paying AUD 3,727 and the tribunal deciding, with the 28-day lodgement limit marked over the first two steps. The ART Immigration and citizenship and Fees pages supply the deadline and fee, as at 3 October 2026.
Alt text: “Three steps in a row: the sponsor applies, pays AUD 3,727, and the tribunal decides, under a bar marked 28 days.”
Who can apply for review of a 300 refusal?
Only the sponsor can apply for review of a Prospective Marriage visa refusal: the Migration Regulations name the sponsor as the review applicant for a 300 (reg 4.02(5)(r); Migration Act s 347A(1)(d)). The fiancé or fiancée cannot lodge it as the review applicant. For a refused 309, the applicant applies under reg 4.02(5)(raa), so partner-visa review instructions do not necessarily fit a 300 refusal.
The grounds behind the decision are explained with the 300 refusal letter on the refusal page. The sponsor’s wider role is covered in the guide titled Sponsoring your fiancé for a Prospective Marriage visa.
The 28-day time limit
The sponsor has 28 days after the day of notification to apply, or 14 days if in immigration detention, and the ART cannot extend either limit under the Migration Act 1958, s 347(3), (5). The ART Immigration and citizenship page states: “We have no power to extend the time limit to apply for a review.”
Migration Act s 494C treats email or fax as received at the end of the transmission day, and an ImmiAccount message at the end of the day it becomes available. Hand delivery counts on the delivery day. Qualifying prepaid Australian post counts seven working days after the letter’s date; other post counts 21 days after that date. Section 494D covers delivery to an authorised recipient.
Example: a decision emailed on Thursday 1 October 2026 gives a last day of Thursday 29 October 2026; the 14-day detention case ends Thursday 15 October 2026. This arithmetic applies Migration Act ss 347(3) and 494C(5).
Under Migration Act s 347 and the ART Fees page, the sponsor’s application to the ART and the fee, full or 50%, must both be in by day 28 after notification (day 14 in immigration detention); a hardship request does not move that date.
The ART fee and the hardship reduction
The ART fee to review a 300 refusal is AUD 3,727, according to the ART Fees page, as at 3 October 2026. Where the ART accepts financial hardship under Migration Regulations reg 4.13(4), the fee is AUD 1,863.50: AUD 3,727 × 50%. Submit supporting documents with the request and pay the full or reduced fee by the deadline.
A sponsor combining reviews for several refused family members pays one fee under Migration Regulations regs 4.12(4) and 4.13(3), rather than a separate fee for each person.
The Migration Regulations 1994, regs 4.13–4.13B, set a base of AUD 3,496 and CPI indexation each 1 July from 2025: 3,496 × 97.7/95.41 rounds to AUD 3,580 from 1 July 2025; 3,580 × 101.7/97.7 rounds to AUD 3,727 from 1 July 2026.
How to apply to the ART
- Check the refusal letter. Confirm review availability and establish when the sponsor was notified. The Home Affairs partner visa FAQs, updated 25 September 2026, say the letter identifies review rights; Migration Act s 494C determines notification.
- The sponsor lodges with the ART within the deadline. The ART Immigration and citizenship page, as at 3 October 2026, accepts online lodgement; paper lodgement uses M1, “Application for review – migration”, or M2 for a person in immigration detention.
- Pay by the same deadline. The ART Fees page requires AUD 3,727, or the 50% financial-hardship fee with the supporting request, as at 3 October 2026.
Two avoidable mistakes are naming the visa applicant instead of the sponsor, contrary to reg 4.02(5)(r), and delaying payment while waiting on hardship, contrary to the ART Fees page’s deadline requirement.
Who can represent you at the ART
The ART Immigration and citizenship page, as at 3 October 2026, identifies these people:
| Who | Basis |
|---|---|
| An Australian lawyer who holds a practising certificate, acting for the sponsor | ART; Migration Act s 280(3) |
Under Migration Act s 280(3), an Australian lawyer with a practising certificate may give immigration assistance in connection with legal practice, including representing the sponsor at the ART.
Marrying while the review is under way
A couple who marry after the refusal and before the review ends have the application treated as also being a partner visa (309/100) application, made on the day the ART remits it, if four conditions are met under Migration Regulations reg 4.15(4):
- The applicant marries the person named as the prospective spouse.
- The ART is told of the marriage.
- The marriage is valid for the Migration Act.
- The ART decides to remit the application to the Minister.
If the ART is not told, or does not remit, reg 4.15(4) does not apply. The review rule is reg 4.15(4), not reg 2.08E, and the resulting application is for a 309/100, not an 820.
Marrying before Home Affairs has decided is a different rule under Migration Regulations reg 2.08E, explained for couples married before your 300 visa is granted.
What the ART can decide, and the 50% refund
Migration Regulations reg 4.14 items 5–6 provide a 50% refund where the ART:
- Sets aside the refusal.
- Varies the decision.
- Remits the application to Home Affairs to reconsider — the step reg 4.15(4) relies on.
An invalid review application receives a full fee refund, according to the ART Fees page, as at 3 October 2026.
The AAT is now the ART (since 14 October 2024)
The Administrative Review Tribunal replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on 14 October 2024, according to the ART commencement news release. Instructions directing a 300 refusal to the AAT use the former tribunal’s name; the standard review limit is 28 days, not 70, with no extension under Migration Act s 347.
Is an ART review the same as an appeal?
People say “prospective marriage visa appeal”; legally, the sponsor applies to the ART for review of a reviewable migration decision under Migration Act s 338(9) and Migration Regulations reg 4.02(4)(s).
Does the 28 days run from the date on the letter?
Not always. Migration Act ss 347(3) and 494C count from notification: the same day for email or ImmiAccount, seven working days after the letter’s date for qualifying Australian post, or 21 days for other post.
Does the ART fee change each year?
Yes. Migration Regulations regs 4.13A–4.13B index it by CPI on 1 July: AUD 3,580 from 1 July 2025 and AUD 3,727 from 1 July 2026.
An ART review of a 300 refusal: what an Australian migration lawyer checks before the deadline
An Australian migration lawyer can check the refusal ground, the sponsor’s standing, the deadline and evidence consistency without predicting the ART’s result.
- Lodgement and payment dates. Day 28 is absolute in the standard case: a late application is out of time whatever its merits, under Migration Act s 347(3), (5). The sponsor’s application and fee need to be arranged early; detention uses 14 days.
- Representation. An Australian lawyer holding a practising certificate can represent the sponsor, including at the hearing, under the ART Immigration and citizenship guidance. Migration Act s 280(3) permits immigration assistance in connection with legal practice.
- Marriage and notification. A lawyer can check marriage validity, timing and notification against Migration Regulations reg 4.15(4). Marriage alone does not trigger the 309/100 mechanism: notification and remittal are also required.
A review and a new visa application are separate steps. If the review is not lodged or does not succeed, a fresh application starts again from the requirements of the Australian fiancé visa.
For deadline-specific advice, have the decision and delivery record ready when contacting an Australian migration lawyer directly. The page on subclass 300 legal help explains the review role.
If you need a review deadline checked
Have the refusal letter, delivery record, sponsor’s status, any authorised-recipient notification and the ART payment status ready when contacting an Australian migration lawyer directly. The shared enquiry page can send a private question to Australian Migration Lawyers. If a deadline is close, contact an Australian migration lawyer directly; viewing this page does not lodge an application or pause a deadline. An enquiry is not an ART application and does not stop or extend the review deadline under Migration Act s 347.