Disagreement with a visa decision made by the Department of Home Affairs
Some people who apply for a visa and have their application refused are unhappy with the decision.
We recognise that a visa refusal can have a significant impact on a person’s circumstances and future plans.
Most visa applications made in Australia have an avenue of review at the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) (subject to the ART’s criteria). The ART has the power to change an agency’s decision. A power that we do not possess. The ART can review some, but not all visa decisions. The ART may be the best avenue to seek help if a visa applicant has received a decision that they do not agree with.
The role of the Ombudsman’s Office is different to the ART. Our role is to improve systemic administration in agencies we oversight. This means we look for problems with the system, process, law or application of policies.
Generally, we will not further investigate disagreements where it could be reviewed by the ART. We are looking for problems that indicate something may be unjust, unfair or otherwise wrong in the circumstances.
Every individual case is assessed. When we do so we will consider the circumstances to identify if it looks like something has gone wrong. We may make further enquiries using our powers under the Ombudsman Act. The type of things that can go wrong include:
- significant errors impacting the decision, for example automation or systems issues
- the complainant was not provided any reasons for the decision or there is a flawed process
- the decision or actions may be unlawful
- significant problems in the Department of Home Affairs’ complaint handling process.
When we finalise a complaint, we will always tell you our decision and why. While we may not investigate all complaints, the issues raised in every complaint are recorded in our systems which allows us to identify trends and helps us decide our future activities. You can find out more about how we handle complaints on our website at Our role.
You can also read our investigation reports and publications on our website, including related to the Department of Home Affairs. In 2025 the Ombudsman published a report making recommendations to the Department of Home Affairs which included reviewing why it took the Department 2 months to fix a system error impacting a visa applicant. You can read our report What if the computer is wrong?