What to Do If a Subclass 802 Child Visa Is Refused in 2026: review rights and time limits
What a Subclass 802 refusal letter says about review rights, the ART deadline, and whether to reapply instead.
If a Child visa (Subclass 802) application is refused, the decision record you receive is the document that controls what happens next. The Department of Home Affairs states on its Child visa (Subclass 802) page (as at August 2026) that if it refuses the visa it will tell you why it refused it and set out any rights of review, and that it will not refund the application charge. Your immediate steps are therefore to read the review-rights section before anything else, note the deadline it gives you, and decide whether to seek a merits review by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) — still referred to as the AAT in older material — or to start again with a fresh application.
What does a Subclass 802 refusal letter actually tell you?
Three things in the decision record determine your options, and none of them can be worked out from general information alone:
- The reasons for refusal. The department's page says it will advise why the visa was refused. Those reasons will map back to the eligibility criteria: dependency on an Australian citizen, eligible New Zealand citizen or permanent visa holder; the age and full-time study rules; sponsorship; health and character; and, for children under 18, consent to migrate and the best interests of the child.
- Whether a review right exists. The same page says the department will advise "any rights of review". That wording matters: a review right is not automatic in every refusal, and the letter is the authoritative statement of whether one applies to your decision.
- That the money is gone. The department states plainly that it will not refund the application charge if the application is refused.
Timing is part of the same picture. The department requires the child to be in Australia when it makes its decision, so a refusal arrives while the child is onshore, which is why visa status becomes an immediate practical question alongside the review question.
Do you have a right to have the refusal reviewed?
Where a review right does exist for an onshore child visa refusal, it is a merits review before the Administrative Review Tribunal, the body that now handles this work. A merits review is a fresh look at whether refusal was the right outcome on the law and the evidence, not an investigation into how the department handled the file or how long it took. That distinction shapes everything you put in: an argument about delay, or about how stressful the wait has been, does nothing for the outcome.
Because the review is decided on the material before the Tribunal rather than only on what was in front of the original decision-maker, evidence that was never supplied, or was supplied but not clearly explained, can be the difference between the decision being confirmed and being changed.
How much time do you have to apply?
The period is short. Review periods of this kind are commonly 21 days. The operative period is the one stated in your own decision record, and that is the date to work from; the current position published by the Administrative Review Tribunal and the Department of Home Affairs is worth checking as well, because time limits in this area are set by regulation and can change.
Practically, this means the first read of the letter is not a quiet moment. The clock runs whether or not you have the documents you need, so the usual sequence is to lodge within the stated period and then build out the evidence, rather than waiting until the file feels complete.
What can a review actually argue?
Reviews of Subclass 802 refusals generally succeed or fail on the same criteria the department applied in the first place. Issues commonly raised include:
- whether the child was correctly treated as a dependent child of an Australian citizen, eligible New Zealand citizen or Australian permanent visa holder, including the separate rules for adopted children and stepchildren;
- whether the age, full-time study and financial dependency evidence was read correctly — including whether any gap of more than six months between the final year of school and further study was properly explained;
- whether a sponsorship was validly approved, given that sponsorship must be approved before the visa can be granted;
- whether compassionate or compelling circumstances, especially in adoption cases, were given proper weight;
- whether documents already provided were overlooked or misinterpreted.
Preparing complete documents together with a written statement that goes directly to each reason for refusal is the usual way these review applications are put together. That is a different exercise from a general appeal: address the reasons one by one, in the order the department listed them.
Review, or lodge a fresh application instead?
Both paths exist, and they are not interchangeable.
| Merits review of the refusal | Fresh Subclass 802 application | |
|---|---|---|
| What it examines | Whether the refusal was the correct decision on the criteria | Whether the child meets the criteria again at the time of the new application |
| Time pressure | Set by the decision record; commonly 21 days | No deadline is stated on the department's page, but the child's age and study status can close the window in practice |
| Cost | The refusal does not refund the visa application charge | A new application charge is payable |
| Form of the application | Governed by the Tribunal process described in the decision record | Paper application using Form 47CH and Form 40CH, sent to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth |
| Location requirement | — | The child must be in Australia when the decision is made |
A fresh application carries one complication a review does not. The department's eligibility page states that it will consider the child's immigration history, which means the child might not be eligible if they have had a visa cancelled or an application refused; in some circumstances a permanent visa application may still be possible, which the page covers under limitations on applications in Australia. A new application also needs an approved sponsorship before the visa can be granted, and the child must still satisfy the dependency, age and study criteria at the time it is made.
Who is allowed to help with a review?
The department's page is specific about this: only some people can give immigration assistance, and they must be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Anyone can be appointed to receive documents on your behalf about the visa matter, which is a different and narrower role. The relevant appointment forms are Form 956 for immigration assistance and Form 956A for an authorised recipient.
This article is general information about how the published rules fit together, not advice on any particular case; the decision record you received and the department's current published pages govern what is actually available to you, and anyone weighing a specific refusal should confirm the position against those official sources or with a registered migration agent or legal practitioner.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to apply for review of a refused Subclass 802 visa?
Review periods of this kind are commonly 21 days. The operative deadline is the one set out in your own decision record, so use that rather than any general figure, and check the current position published by the Administrative Review Tribunal because these limits are set by regulation and can change.
Will the application charge be refunded if the visa is refused?
No. The Department of Home Affairs states on the Child visa (Subclass 802) page that it will not refund the application charge if it refuses the application. A fresh application means paying a new charge, since the first one is not transferred or credited.
Is the review done by the AAT or the ART?
The Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) now handles these reviews; older guides and search results still use the former name, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). If you are searching online, both terms point at the same body of review work.
What if the refusal letter says there is no right of review?
Then the Tribunal pathway is not open for that decision, because the letter is the authoritative statement of whether review rights exist. What remains available depends on the circumstances of the case and the rules as currently published, which is why the reasons recorded in the letter matter so much.
Can I just lodge a new application instead of seeking review?
You can, but the criteria must be met again at the time of the new application, a new charge is payable, and the department will consider the child's immigration history, including the earlier refusal. The application is made on paper using Form 47CH and Form 40CH, sent to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth, and the child must be in Australia when the decision is made.
Does the child have to stay in Australia while the review is pending?
The department's page states that the child must be in Australia when it makes its decision, and that a bridging visa associated with the application allows the child to remain lawful while the application is being processed. Keeping the child lawful throughout remains the practical priority; the department's step-by-step page and the bridging visa records are where the applicable conditions are set out.