News & Insights
The Administrative Review Tribunal and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2025 was passed on 5 February 2026 and has now come into effect as on today, 18 May 2026.
Who will be impacted?
The reform currently only impacts student (subclass 500) visa applicants that are at the Tribunal for review. However, the Bill also confirms that there will be prescribed temporary visas that will also be impacted. This will be set out in the amended legislation. Currently, they have not prescribed the visa subclasses. This is likely to change soon.
What does this mean?
Under the new provisions, the Tribunal may make a decision without holding a hearing (whether in person or by video or phone link) where:
- The issues can be adequately determined without a hearing;
- It is reasonable in the circumstances to decide the matter on the papers;
- Parties have been provided a reasonable opportunity to make written submissions without holding the hearing and the ART has taken into account the submissions received
How will this impact me?
If you are a person in the prescribed temporary visa list, it means the Tribunal will be able to make a decision without you attending a hearing. Sometimes, due to tight timeframes, you might lodge an appeal with the intention of providing everything at a much later date. This is no longer a safe option as they can begin reviewing your decision quickly, leaving you without much time to remedy your documents.
The best thing you can do is start preparing for your appeal as soon as it is lodged with the Tribunal.
Contact MSM Legal via our website or on (08) 8161 5088 for more information and a consultation about your situation.