Australia Adds $1,863.50 Fee for Protection Visa Reviews
Most applicants seeking review of refused or cancelled protection visas must now pay the upfront charge when lodging.
Updated on Nov. 1, 2026 in Immigration
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Australia has introduced an upfront application fee of 1,863.50 Australian dollars, about 1,300 U.S. dollars, for most protection visa reviews. The requirement took effect on 1 November 2026 and follows amendments to Australia's Migration Regulations 1994.
Why it matters
The fee changes when and how applicants pay for challenging protection decisions, shifting the cost to the point of lodging rather than after review. Applications lodged before 1 November 2026 remain subject to the previous payment arrangement.
The fee is set in regulation at 1,863.50 Australian dollars (about 1,300 U.S. dollars) per review application. Non-citizens held in immigration detention are exempt, and applicants can be exempt where their cases combine with a fee-paid application.
The details
Applicants must pay the fee when lodging a review application for decisions refusing or cancelling protection visas, and for certain decisions withdrawing protection findings. Applicants who started online applications before 1 November but did not submit them must restart and pay the upfront fee.
Timeline
1 November 2026: Upfront protection visa review fee requirement took effect.
Policy Context
The fee is introduced by amending Australia's Migration Regulations 1994, adding a payment requirement to the existing process for reviewing protection visa decisions. It marks a change in how the cost of challenging those decisions is allocated.
Anyone lodging a review of a refused or cancelled protection visa must now pay 1,863.50 Australian dollars at the time of application. Applicants who win their review or whose application is found invalid are fully refunded.
The takeaway
Applicants considering a protection visa review should budget for the upfront fee before lodging, since it is non-refundable only if the application succeeds and is not found invalid.
Further reading
For broader background on how visa decisions are made and reviewed, see Immigration coverage on Wisevoter.
Source note: This article includes information reported by News.
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