An Australian visa can be cancelled after grant only on grounds the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) sets out, and three powers do most of the work: section 109 for incorrect information, section 116 for a list of grounds, and section 501 for character. A permanent Carer visa is harder to cancel than most, because while the holder is in Australia and was immigration cleared on their last entry, the section 116(1) grounds, including facts that have changed since grant such as the care ending, cannot be used against it (s 117(2)).
| Power | Ground | Permanent Carer visa, holder in Australia | Notice and reply time | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| s 109 | Incorrect information in the application or on a passenger card (ss 101–105), unless fully disclosed (s 113) | Yes | s 107 notice: 14 days for a permanent visa | ART, 28 days, unless the Minister decided personally |
| s 116(1) | Changed facts, a breached condition, risk, an unlawful grant or a prescribed ground | No, if immigration cleared on last entry (s 117(2)); yes before first entry or while abroad | s 119 notice: 5 working days in Australia; outside Australia, usually 28 days (reg 2.44) | ART in the migration zone; abroad, a revocation request (s 129) |
| s 116(1AA), (1AB), (1AC) | Identity; incorrect information outside s 109; paying for sponsorship | Yes, because s 117(2) limits only s 116(1) | s 119 notice, as above | ART in the migration zone |
| s 501 | The character test | Yes, at any time | Natural justice if a delegate decides (s 501(2)); none under s 501(3) | ART under s 500 within 9 days; none for the Minister personally |
When can an Australian visa be cancelled after grant?
An Australian visa can be cancelled after grant when one of three kinds of ground applies, and the Department's cancelling a visa page (updated 17 January 2025) lists them in plain terms.
- Information. The application or later dealings contained incorrect or fraudulent information or documents (ss 109 and 116(1AB)), or the holder's identity is in doubt (s 116(1AA)).
- Changed facts and conditions. The facts the grant relied on no longer exist, or a visa condition was breached (s 116(1)(a)–(c)).
- Character and risk. The holder does not pass the character test (s 501) or is a risk to the community (s 116(1)(e)).
The Department's page adds that "If we cancel your visa, we may also cancel the visas held by any of your family members". Section 116 of the Act is a cancellation power and has nothing to do with the subclass 116 Carer visa, which only shares the number.
Is a Carer visa permanent?
A Carer visa is permanent: the holder can stay in Australia indefinitely, work, study and enrol in Medicare, according to the Department's subclass 836 page. What expires is the 5-year travel facility (cl 116.511 and 836.511 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth)), not the visa. Permanent does not mean it cannot be cancelled. In Australia it is shielded from the section 116(1) grounds by section 117(2), but not from sections 109, 116(1AA)–(1AC) or 501, and outside Australia the shield does not apply.
Can a Carer visa be cancelled if the care stops?
A Carer visa held in Australia cannot be cancelled just because the care stops after grant, because the changed-facts ground in section 116(1)(a) cannot be used against a permanent visa whose holder is in Australia and was immigration cleared on their last entry (s 117(2)). The Minister's personal power to cancel on section 116 grounds is limited in the same way (s 133C(9)).
Before first entry on a subclass 116
The section 116(1) grounds do apply before the holder first enters Australia (s 117(1)(a)). A 116 can also carry condition 8502 (not to enter before a named person) or condition 8515 (not to marry or enter a de facto relationship before entry), and breaching a condition is a section 116(1)(b) ground.
While the holder is outside Australia
Section 117(2) protects only a holder who is in Australia. Section 128 lets the Minister cancel the visa of a person outside Australia on a section 116 ground without notice beforehand, followed by a notice and a chance to ask for the cancellation to be revoked (ss 129–131), with 28 days to respond (reg 2.46). This is what the law allows, not a prediction of how the Department uses it.
Can the Carer visa be cancelled if the sponsor breaks the undertaking?
The Department's pages say a Carer visa "might" be cancelled if the sponsor does not meet the sponsorship obligations, but this guide found no Carer-specific cancellation ground in the Migration Act or in regulation 2.43.
The sponsor's undertaking under regulation 1.20(2)(a) is to help with accommodation and money for the carer's first 2 years: from grant for an 836, and from first entry for a 116. The sponsor-related grounds in regulation 2.43 cover work visas such as the 482 and 494, not Carer visas. Section 116(1)(c) needs a visa condition that another person must meet, and Carer visas carry none of that kind. For a holder in Australia, section 117(2) rules out the section 116(1) grounds in any case.
Can wrong information lead to a Carer visa cancellation?
Wrong information can lead to a Carer visa cancellation under section 109 or section 116(1AB), whether the error was deliberate or not (s 111).
Section 109 covers answers in the application, passenger cards and changes that should have been reported before grant (ss 101–105), except a matter that was fully disclosed at the time (s 113). Section 116(1AB) covers incorrect information given at any time to an officer, the Minister or the Tribunal that was taken into account in granting the visa. Before grant, the same kind of problem is judged under the rules on false information on a Carer visa, which also bring waiting periods for a new application.
What is a notice of intention to consider cancellation?
A notice of intention to consider cancellation is the written notice the Department gives before cancelling under section 109 or section 116, setting out the grounds and the time you have to respond, except where the Act allows cancellation without notice beforehand (s 128 for a holder outside Australia, and the Minister's personal powers in ss 133A(3) and 133C(3)).
Section 107 notice (incorrect information)
A holder of a permanent visa has 14 days to respond to a section 107 notice (s 107(1A)(b)). The notice asks you either to show there was no incorrect information, or to explain it and show why the visa should not be cancelled.
Section 119 notice (section 116 grounds)
A holder in Australia has 5 working days to respond to a section 119 notice. A holder outside Australia whose case is being considered in Australia has 28 days. A further 5 working days can be allowed (reg 2.44). Any extra adverse information must be given to you with an invitation to comment (s 120).
Character
A delegate who is considering a section 501 cancellation must give natural justice (s 501(2)). The Minister's personal power in section 501(3) does not require it.
Can a Carer visa cancellation be reviewed?
A Carer visa cancellation can be reviewed by the ART if you were in the migration zone when it was cancelled, and you must apply within 28 days after you are notified (ss 338(3), 347(3) and 347A(2)).
Three exceptions apply. A section 501 cancellation goes to the ART under section 500, within 9 days for a person in the migration zone (s 500(6B)). A cancellation the Minister makes personally under section 109, 116 or 501 is not reviewable by the ART (s 338(3)(c)–(d)). A section 128 cancellation of a person outside Australia is answered by asking for revocation (s 129), not by an ART review. The ART's immigration page says it expedites reviews of visa cancellations automatically where possible, and the usual A$3,727 fee applies.
Does citizenship end the risk of cancellation?
Citizenship ends the risk of visa cancellation, because the Migration Act's visa and cancellation powers apply to non-citizens, but citizenship by conferral can itself be revoked in narrow cases under section 34(2) of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth).
The grounds are an offence in the citizenship application, a serious offence committed before citizenship with a serious prison sentence, a conviction for migration-related fraud connected with the visa (s 34(6)), or third-party fraud. The Minister must also be satisfied that it would be contrary to the public interest for the person to remain a citizen (s 34(2)(c)).
Getting there takes time. The citizenship residence requirement needs 4 years of lawful residence, including 12 months as a permanent resident, and the guide on when the residence clock starts for a 116 and an 836 shows why the dates differ: permanent residence starts at grant for an 836 and at first entry for a 116.
What keeps a Carer visa secure after grant?
Three things keep a Carer visa secure after grant: true and complete information, a clean character record, and travel that stays within the rules.
- Information. Report changes that happen before grant (ss 104 and 105) and keep proof of what you disclosed, because a matter fully disclosed cannot ground a section 109 cancellation (s 113).
- Character. Section 501 applies to every visa at any time, whatever its subclass.
- Travel. Section 117(2) protects the visa only while you are in Australia, and the 5-year travel facility ends 5 years after grant. After that, returning needs a Resident Return visa or citizenship.
The relative's side of the arrangement is the sponsor's 2-year undertaking, and the guide to the sponsor's role explains what it covers and why it cannot be withdrawn after grant. The rest of the guide is at Carer Visa Australia.
A registered professional makes a grant more likely
A registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner makes a successful reply to a cancellation notice more likely, because a section 119 notice can allow only 5 working days and a missed ART deadline ends the review. They can also tell whether the power being used reaches a permanent Carer visa at all, which turns on where the holder was and how they last entered Australia.
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