Carer visa refusal: why Carer visas are refused and what comes next

A Carer visa refusal gives you 28 days from the day you are notified to apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), and the refusal letter must name the criterion the application failed, under sections 66(2) and 347(3) of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). The Carer-specific grounds are a carer assessment rating below 30, care that another relative or a service could reasonably give, a carer who is not a "relative", and a sponsor, health, character or information criterion that is not met.

What are the common refusal grounds for a Carer visa?

The common refusal grounds for a Carer visa map to eight criteria in the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth): four that only Carer visas have, and four shared with other permanent visas.

1. The certificate. The carer assessment certificate rates the relative's impairment below 30, or no certificate is on file when the decision is made. The Department's subclass 836 page says that without the certificate "we will not grant you the visa".
2. Other care. The help the relative needs could reasonably come from another relative who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, or from welfare, hospital, nursing or community services in Australia (reg 1.15AA(1)(e)).
3. The relationship. The carer is not a "relative" as regulation 1.03 defines it. Cousins, for example, are not on the list.
4. The sponsor. The sponsorship is not approved or no longer in force at decision (cl 116.222, 836.227), or an 836 sponsor is not settled in Australia (cl 836.213).
5. Health. The carer or a family member does not meet public interest criterion (PIC) 4005, which has no waiver.
6. Character. PIC 4001 is not met, or the visa is refused under section 501 of the Act.
7. Information and identity. PIC 4020 is not met because a document was bogus, information was false or misleading, or identity was not shown.
8. Validity. The application did not meet Schedule 1, for example because it came without evidence that the carer assessment had been sought. An invalid application is not refused. It is not considered at all.

The initial assessment that gives a Carer application its queue date also refuses applications that fail core criteria, according to the Department's Other Family visas queue page. No figures are published on which ground is used most often for Carer visas.

If you are not sure which ground your letter relies on, an enquiry about your Carer visa case is read by a registered migration practice.

Do you get a warning before a Carer visa refusal?

You get a warning before a Carer visa refusal only when the refusal would rest on information you did not give, because section 57 of the Migration Act requires the Department to give you the particulars and invite your comment. Under section 63(3) the Department cannot refuse the visa until you comment, say you will not comment, or the time in the letter runs out.

The other side is that a refusal based on your own documents needs no warning. If the certificate you lodged rates the impairment below 30, the refusal letter can be the first formal notice you receive.

What if the carer assessment rating is below 30?

A carer assessment rating below 30 means the Carer visa is refused, because regulation 1.15AA(3) requires the decision-maker to take the certificate's opinion on the medical questions as correct.

The route for a disputed rating is a review of the opinion by the specified health service provider, which regulation 1.15AA(2)(b) recognises, rather than an argument with the case officer. How the rating is produced and scored under regulation 1.15AA is set out step by step on the impairment-rating page.

What if other care is found to be available?

Care found to be available from another relative or from welfare, hospital, nursing or community services means regulation 1.15AA(1)(e) is not met, and the Carer visa is refused.

This ground sits on the relative's side of the application. Form 47OF asks about every relative in Australia and every service approached, and the evidence that shows the relative has no reasonable access to care from family or services has to answer each one.

What if the need for care ends before the decision?

A need for care that ends before the decision leads to refusal, because the applicant must be "a carer" of the relative at the time of decision (cl 116.221 and 836.221).

Recovery, the relative's death or a permanent move into residential care each change the regulation 1.15AA test. Over a queue the Department estimates at 12 years for a new Carer application, that is a real risk rather than a remote one.

Where you are at the decision

An 836 applicant must be in Australia when the visa is decided, and a 116 applicant must be outside Australia (cl 836.411 and 116.411). Being in the wrong place at decision is a ground for refusal on its own.

What if a health, character or sponsor criterion fails?

A failed health, character or sponsor criterion refuses the Carer visa even when the care need is proved, because each is a separate criterion at decision.

1. Health. PIC 4005 applies to the carer and to every family member, including those not migrating unless the Minister finds an assessment unreasonable (cl 836.224A and 116.226A). The decision-maker must take the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth's opinion as correct (reg 2.25A(3)), and PIC 4005 has no waiver.
2. Character. PIC 4001 and section 501 of the Act apply to the carer and family members aged 16 and over.
3. Sponsor. The sponsorship must be approved and still in force at decision. Form 40 says the sponsor of a Carer application "usually cannot be changed" once it is lodged.

Running the three-link check again before any new application shows which criteria still hold and which do not.

Is the Carer visa charge refunded after a refusal?

The Carer visa charge is not refunded after a refusal. The Department's subclass 836 page says "We will not refund the application fee if we refuse your application".

The Carer visa second instalment of A$2,065 per person is charged only before grant, under section 64 of the Act, so a refused applicant has usually not paid it. The refund circumstances in regulation 2.12F, such as the applicant's death before a decision, do not include refusal.

How long do you have to act after a Carer visa refusal?

You have 28 days after the day you are notified of a Carer visa refusal to apply to the ART, or 14 days if you are in immigration detention, and the Tribunal cannot extend that time (Migration Act s 347(3) and (5)).

The day you are notified depends on how the letter was sent (s 494C). An email counts at the end of the day it was sent. A letter posted within Australia counts 7 working days after its date, and any other posted letter counts 21 days after its date. The ART's immigration page tells applicants to check the time limit in the decision letter.

Can you apply for a Carer visa again?

You can apply for a Carer visa again, but if your 836 was refused while you were in Australia and you no longer hold a substantive visa, only as a 116 from outside Australia, because the section 48 bar stops a new onshore Carer application.

Regulation 2.12 lists the visas a person barred by section 48 can still apply for in Australia, and the Other Family (Residence) class that includes the 836 is not on it. The rules for applying from inside Australia explain the bar in full. The rules for applying from outside Australia set out the 116 path, which needs a new application, a new charge and a new queue date.

A refusal under PIC 4020 also brings waiting periods. PIC 4020(2) bars a new visa for 3 years after a refusal for false or misleading information, and PIC 4020(2B) bars it for 10 years after a refusal for identity.

Which guides cover review after a Carer visa refusal?

Three guides cover review after a Carer visa refusal, one for each stage.

1. Before the decision. A section 57 natural justice letter is the Department's invitation to answer adverse information, and it is the last chance to respond before a refusal.
2. After the refusal. The Carer visa appeal goes to the ART. For an 836 the carer applies from inside Australia (s 347A(1)(a) and (2)), and for a 116 the Australian sponsor applies (s 347A(1)(b)).
3. After the Tribunal. A request for ministerial intervention after the Tribunal asks the Minister to use the personal power in section 351, which the Minister has no duty to consider.

Where does a refusal leave the family?

A refusal leaves the 836 carer on a Bridging visa A for 35 days unless a review is lodged, and leaves the relative without the care plan the visa was built around (cl 010.511(1)(b)(ii)).

If an ART review is lodged, the Bridging visa A runs until 35 days after the Tribunal decides (cl 010.511(1)(b)(iii)). Medicare enrolment based on the application stops if no appeal is lodged. A 116 applicant's position does not change, because they were outside Australia throughout.

The care question does not end with the decision. The relative's need is still there, and the options above run to fixed dates. Asking a registered practitioner to review your Carer visa case before the 28 days run out keeps every option open. The rest of the guide is at Carer Visa Australia.

Read next

Carer visa appeal at the Administrative Review TribunalThe carer lodges for an 836; the sponsor lodges for a 116. Section 57 natural justice letters: what one means for your Carer visaThe letter lists adverse information and gives a fixed date to answer. Carer visa requirements: check the three links in orderCheck each Carer visa criterion in order, from the relative's condition to the sponsor. Ministerial intervention after the Tribunal: requests for a Carer visaOne referral criterion is written for carers, and it starts at 30.