Refugee Advice and Casework Service

A. Level 12, 173-175 Phillip Street Sydney NSW 2000P. [02] 9114-1600F. [02] 9114-1794E. admin@racs.org.au W. www.racs.org.au

Refused by the Refugee Review Tribunal.What are your options?

© UNHCR/S.Phelps

please note

What happens to your Bridging visa after the negative RRT decision?

2 | Refused by the Refugee Review Tribunal? What are your options?

• YourBridgingvisawillexpire28daysafteryouarenotifiedoftheRRTdecision.

• Before your Bridging visa expires, you MUST go to the Department of

ImmigrationandCitizenship(DIAC)toapplyforanewBridgingvisa,unlessyou

decidetoleaveAustraliabeforethen.

• YouMUSTapply foraBridgingvisaeven ifyouapply for judicial reviewor

requestMinisterialintervention.Ifyoudon’t,youwillbecomeunlawfulandwill

beatriskofbeingdetained.

• IfyoumakemorethanonerequestforMinisterialintervention,youwillnot

necessarilybegrantedaBridgingvisa.

IMPORTANT TIME LIMITSBridging visa expires 28 days after the RRT decision

You have 35 days to apply for a judicial review after RRT decision

Can you apply for other visas?

3

• IfyouhavebeenrefusedaProtectionvisa,youarenotallowedtoapplyfor

mostvisasinAustralia.However,theremaybesomevisasthatyoucanapplyfor

in Australia, including a Partner visa.

• TheremightbeothervisasthatyoucanapplyforfromoutsideAustralia.

SometimesitmightbebettertothinkaboutleavingAustraliatoapplyforavisa

fromoverseas,ratherthanpursuingoptionsinAustraliathatwillbeunsuccessful

andjustdelayyourinevitabledeparture.

• Forlegaladviceonothervisaoptions,youcancontactthe Immigration Advice

and Rights Centre on (02) 9279 4300.

Can you apply for judicial review?

• IftheRRThasrefusedyourapplication,youcanapplytotheFederalMagistrates

Courttoreviewtheirdecision.Thisiscalled‘judicialreview’.

• TheCourtwill lookatwhetherthelawwasproperlyappliedwhentheRRT

madeitsdecisionand/orwhethertheRRTproperlyfollowedlegalprocedures

inconductingthereviewofyourmatter.

• IftheCourtdecidesthattheRRTmadealegalerror,theCourtcanorderthe

RRTto reconsideryourcase. TheCourtdoesnothavethepower todecide

whether you are owed protection by Australia.

• Evenifyouwinthecourtaction,youwillnotnecessarilybegrantedaProtection

visa.

Can you apply for judicial review? (cont.)

COURT COSTS

Ifyouareunsuccessfulatthecourt,youmayberequiredtopaysignificantcosts,

includingthecostsoftheGovernment’slawyers.

TIMELIMIT

ThereisatimelimitforapplyingtotheFederalCircuitCourtwhichisgenerally35

daysfromthedateoftheRRTdecision.

However,inspecialcircumstances,theCourtmaygrantan‘extensionoftime’.

YoushouldseeklegaladvicebeforeapplyingtotheFederalCircuitCourt.Youcan

contactLegalAidNSWon(02)92195790.

Can you request the Minister for Immigration to intervene in your case?

TheMinisterforImmigrationhasspecialpowerstograntavisatoapersonwho

hasbeenrefusedbytheRRT(section417)ortoallowapersontolodgeanother

Protectionvisaapplication(section48B).

These powers are discretionary- meaning that theMinister does not have to

consider your case.

Onlyasmallnumberofcasesaresuccessfuleachyear.

You should consider all your other options before requesting the Minister to

intervene.

*SeetheRACSFactsheet“HowtopreparealetterofrequestseekingMinisterial

intervention”.

4 | Refused by the Refugee Review Tribunal? What are your options?

5

Leaving Australia

• Ifyoudonot takeany furtheractiononyourcase, inmostcases,youmust

leaveAustraliawithin28daysafteryouarenotifiedoftheRRTdecision. Ifyou

need more time to make arrangements to leave Australia, you should contact the

compliancesectioninDIAC.Seethewebsitefordetailswww.immi.gov.au

• Ifyoudon’thaveavalidBridgingvisaandyoustayinAustralia,youwillbeat

riskofbeingdetainedandremoved.

Furtherinformation

Forfurtherinformation,youcancontacttheRACSTelephoneAdviceserviceon91141600between10:00and12:00on

TuesdayandThursdayforfreetelephoneadviceortoseeifyouneedanappointmentorforareferraltoanotherservice.

Thisbrochureisavailablein:Arabic,Chinese(simplified),Dari/Farsi,TamilTurkish,Urdu

Formoreinformation,visitwww.racs.org.au,callRACSon(02)9114-1600oremailadmin@racs.org.au.

DisclaimerThisfactsheetisgeneral.Itdoesnotconstitute,andshouldbenotreliedonas,legaladvice.RefugeeAdviceandCaseworkServicerecommendsseekingadvicefromaqualifiedlawyeronthelegalissuesaffectingyoubeforeactingonanylegalmatter.RefugeeAdviceandCaseworkServiceistheauthorofthispublicationandacceptsresponsibilityfortheinformation.Thisfactsheetappliestopeoplewholivein,orareaffectedby,thelawasitappliesin Australia.Theinformationinthisfactsheetiscurrentat1November2012ThispublicationhasbeenproducedwiththefinancialassistanceoftheLawandJusticeFoundationofNSW.TheFoundationseekstoadvancethefairnessandequityofthejusticesystemandtoimproveaccesstojustice,especiallyforsociallyandeconomicallydisadvantagedpeople.http://lawfoundation.net.auThispublicationiscopyright.ItmaybereproducedinpartorwholeforeducationalpurposesaslongaspropercreditisgiventotheRefugeeAdviceandCaseworkServiceanditscontributors.Disclaimer:anyopinionsexpressedinthispublicationarethoseoftheauthorsanddonotnecessarilyreflecttheviewsoftheLawandJusticeFoundation’sBoardofGovernors.©RefugeeAdviceandCaseworkService

Further Information

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