482 Visa Refused: Reasons, Options and Time Limits

A 482 visa refusal is reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) on an application lodged within 28 days of being notified, with the $3,727 fee paid by that deadline, where the decision is reviewable. The refusal letter must name the criterion that was not met, give reasons, and say whether the decision can be reviewed, the time limit, who can apply and where (Migration Act 1958, s 66). Read it first to see whether the sponsorship, the nomination or the visa itself was refused, because each stage has a different review applicant and different consequences for the worker.

What happens at each stage if refused

What does the refusal letter tell you?

A refusal letter is the written notice section 66 of the Migration Act 1958 requires. It must state five things:

1. the criterion or provision the application failed;
2. the written reasons for the decision;
3. whether the decision can be reviewed;
4. the time limit for applying for review;
5. who can apply, and where.

An offshore refusal with no review right need not give written reasons (s 66(3)). The time limit runs from when you are taken to have received the letter: the end of the day it is sent for an email or ImmiAccount message, and 7 working days after its date for post within Australia (s 494C). If your lawyer or another person is your authorised recipient, the letter is taken to reach you when it reaches them (s 494D).

Can the refusal be reviewed?

Often, but not always: it depends on the stage refused, where you were and who applies.

Refused while you are in Australia

Yes, if at the time of refusal you were in an approved nomination, or a review of the sponsorship or nomination was pending (s 338(2)(d); reg 4.02(1A)(kb)). You apply yourself, and you must be in Australia on the day you apply (s 347A(2)).

Refused while you are outside Australia

Only in limited cases. The sponsor applies, and only if it is an Australian citizen or permanent resident, a New Zealand citizen holding a special category visa, a company or partnership operating in Australia or a government agency, and the nomination is approved or a nomination or sponsorship review is pending (reg 4.02(4)(l), (4AA)).

Refused because of the nomination or sponsorship

The employer, not the worker, seeks review of a refused nomination or sponsorship (reg 4.02(5)(a), (c)). Why that review matters to the worker is explained under “Was it the nomination or the visa?” below.

The deadline is 28 days after notification, or 14 days in immigration detention, and the ART has no power to extend it (s 347(5) of the Migration Act 1958). How the Tribunal handles a 482 case, and what it can order, is set out under 482 visa review at the ART.

Why are 482 visas refused?

Each ground is a criterion in Part 482 of Schedule 2 to the Migration Regulations 1994 or an instrument made under it:

1. the nomination was not approved, or its approval ceased (cl 482.212(1));
2. the intention to perform the occupation, or the position itself, is not genuine (cl 482.212(2));
3. less than 1 year of relevant work in the last 5 years (cl 482.221, 482.231);
4. English below the scores in the English Language Test Requirements instrument 2025, for example IELTS 5.0 in each of the four components;
5. a mandatory skills assessment not started before lodging (IMMI 18/039; Home Affairs Core Skills stream page);
6. health (public interest criterion 4007);
7. character (public interest criterion 4001);
8. false or misleading information (public interest criterion 4020);
9. no adequate health insurance (cl 482.214);
10. paying for visa sponsorship in the previous 3 years (cl 482.213);
11. adverse information about the sponsor (cl 482.216);
12. for applicants in Australia, earlier visa conditions not substantially complied with (cl 482.211).

Part 482 adds that all criteria must be satisfied at the time a decision is made, so a change after lodging can cause a refusal. Home Affairs does not publish a 482 refusal rate on its visa pages, and this guide states none.

Was it the nomination or the visa?

If the nomination was refused, the visa cannot be granted (cl 482.212(1)). The common nomination grounds each have their own rule:

• the position is not genuine (reg 2.72(10));
• earnings are below the annual market salary rate or the CSIT of $79,423 (reg 2.72(15)), and Home Affairs states that it may refuse where only generic salary surveys are given (Home Affairs salary requirements page);
• labour market testing was not met (Migration Act s 140GBA);
• the occupation is not on the list, or a caveat applies (LIN 24/089 s 7);
• the business lacks the capacity to pay (reg 2.72(17A)).

The employer, not the worker, seeks review of the nomination, and lodging that review keeps the worker’s visa refusal reviewable (s 338(2)(d)(iii)). What the employer can do is covered under 482 visa nomination refused.

What happens to your work rights while you wait?

A substantive visa you already hold, such as a current 482 or a 485, continues with its own conditions, and condition 8607 still applies to a current 482. A Bridging visa A comes into effect only when that visa ends, with the work conditions in its grant letter, which VEVO shows (Home Affairs Bridging visa A page).

The Bridging visa A ends 35 days after the refusal, or 35 days after the ART decides if review was sought (Sch 2 cl 010.511(1)(b)). It does not allow return travel to Australia.

When is lodging again better than review?

A new application made in Australia needs a substantive visa or a Bridging visa A, B or C (Sch 1 item 1240(3)(d)), no section 48 bar (regulation 2.12 does not list the 482), and no condition 8503, 8534 or 8535 on the current visa (Home Affairs no further stay waiver page). It also needs a new or still-valid nomination, a new charge of $4,015, and the thresholds in force at the new lodgement.

Review costs $3,727. For temporary work reviews finalised between 1 March and 31 August 2026, the ART finished half within 1 year and 6 months and 95% within 2 years and 10 months. The ART can send a visa or nomination back to Home Affairs with an order that a criterion is taken to be met (s 349(2); reg 4.15).

Which route is better depends on why the application was refused and on the visa you hold now, so it turns on your facts: the enquiry form at the end of this page goes to an Australian migration lawyer.

Common mistakes

1. Lodging review late, or paying the fee after the deadline. The limit is 28 days (14 days in detention), the ART cannot extend it (s 347(3), (5)), and the fee must be paid before the deadline for applying (ART fees page).
2. The employer not seeking review of a refused nomination. An onshore visa refusal is reviewable only if the worker is in an approved nomination, or a nomination or sponsor review is pending, when the visa is refused (s 338(2)(d)).
3. The wrong person applying: the employer for a nomination (reg 4.02(5)(c)), the worker for an onshore visa (s 347A(1)(a)), the sponsor for an offshore visa (reg 4.02(5)(k)).
4. Leaving Australia before lodging review of an onshore visa refusal. The applicant must be in Australia when the review application is made (s 347A(2)).
5. Expecting the visa charge or the levy back. Home Affairs does not usually refund the visa application charge (Home Affairs refunds page), and the levy comes back only on the grounds in regulation 2.73AA.
6. Planning a new 482 in Australia without a substantive visa. Section 48 limits applications to the classes in regulation 2.12, which does not include the 482.
7. Letting circumstances change before the decision. All criteria must be satisfied at the time the decision is made (Part 482 of Schedule 2).
8. Supporting the salary with generic surveys only. Home Affairs states that it may refuse a nomination on that evidence (salary requirements page).

Getting help with a refused 482

A migration lawyer is more likely to turn a refusal around because they can read from the letter which criterion failed, whether the employer must first seek review of the nomination to keep the visa refusal reviewable, and which evidence would meet the criterion at the ART, all within 28 days that the Tribunal cannot extend.

What a migration lawyer does, how to check one and what they charge is covered under do you need a migration lawyer.