In the 2025-26 financial year (1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026), Australia's review tribunals (the Administrative Review Tribunal, and the Administrative Appeals Tribunal before 14 October 2024) decided 1,432 visa appeals that our pipeline holds from the published record. This report is what happened in them.
These are decisions that have already been made, drawn from the public record. Every case turns on its own facts and evidence, so the figures describe the past and do not predict any individual result. General information only, not migration advice.
The headline
Across 1,432 appeal decisions in FY2025-26, the tribunal set the original refusal or cancellation aside in 12% of cases and sent it back for reconsideration in a further 34%, so the applicant secured a better outcome in 46% of appeals. The original decision was upheld in 54%.
Counts from 1,432 FY2025-26 decisions captured by our pipeline, as at 2026-08-30.
How to read these decisions
The Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) reviews decisions made by the Department of Home Affairs. Until 14 October 2024 it was called the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT). When someone is refused a visa or has one cancelled, they can often ask the tribunal to look at the decision again.
- Upheld / Affirmed
- The tribunal agreed with the original decision. The refusal or cancellation stands (the applicant lost).
- Set aside
- The tribunal disagreed with the original decision and replaced it (the applicant won).
- Remitted
- The case was sent back to Home Affairs to decide again, with directions (a fresh chance for the applicant).
- Overturned
- The original decision was reversed. On these pages we group overturned decisions under "Set aside" above.
Citations follow a simple pattern: [2026] ARTA 315 means decision number 315 of the tribunal in 2026. Older decisions use AAT in place of ARTA.
By visa subclass
Every visa subclass with at least 15 FY2025-26 decisions on record. Set aside and remitted are outcomes in the applicant's favour; upheld confirmed the original decision.
| Visa | Subclass | Decisions | Set aside | Remitted | Upheld |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protection visa | 866 | 526 | 3% | 27% | 70% |
| Student visa | 500 | 339 | 9% | 48% | 44% |
| Special Category visa | 444 | 123 | 36% | 0% | 63% |
| Skills in Demand visa | 482 | 66 | 0% | 73% | 27% |
| Partner visa (onshore, temporary) | 820 | 63 | 8% | 68% | 24% |
| Resident Return visa | 155 | 59 | 44% | 2% | 51% |
| Visitor visa | 600 | 56 | 11% | 62% | 27% |
| Partner visa (onshore, permanent) | 801 | 26 | 35% | 4% | 62% |
| Bridging visa E | 050 | 24 | 8% | 17% | 75% |
| Partner visa (offshore, provisional) | 309 | 21 | 19% | 76% | 5% |
| Temporary Graduate visa | 485 | 19 | 5% | 37% | 53% |
| Refugee visa | 200 | 17 | 47% | 6% | 47% |
| Partner visa (offshore, permanent) | 100 | 16 | 44% | 12% | 44% |
| Global Special Humanitarian visa | 202 | 16 | 62% | 0% | 38% |
Track visa decisions as they land
Our pipeline reads new tribunal decisions from the official record every week and folds them into the numbers on these pages. Subscribers get the important rule and outcome shifts in plain English. Free, unsubscribe anytime.
How we built this
VisaClarity reads tribunal decisions from the official record (AustLII) and tags each with its visa subclass and outcome exactly as recorded. We only count and group; we never reinterpret an individual decision, and the figures refresh daily. Open any subclass from the table above, or browse all tribunal topics.