Changes in your situation

Getting a refund

You pay a visa application charge (VAC), sponsorship/nomination fee or citizenship application fee so we can assess your application. These will not be refunded to you just because your application, nomination or sponsorship was refused or unsuccessful.

Generally, a VAC will only be refunded in certain circumstances, including if:

the application was unnecessary at the time it was made.
a mistake was made by the Department.
the applicant has died.
the sponsorship or nomination was not successful.
the application was made because of a mistake by the applicant and it is withdrawn in writing before a decision is made.

If you reverse or cancel a payment for your application:

your application might become invalid.
you might incur a debt to the Commonwealth. This may limit your ability to be granted another visa.

Refunds for the Skilling Australians Fund Levy are only possible for limited reasons. For more information check the Skilling Australians Fund Levy information at Cost of sponsoring (homeaffairs.gov.au)

There is no standard timeframe for processing a refund request. Each refund request must be individually assessed under the relevant legal authority or administrative rules.

Requesting a refund

Fully vaccinated Student and Working Holiday Maker visa holders who travelled to Australia during a specified period can claim a refund for their visa application charge.

To be eligible claimants must have:

Held a Student Visa Subclass:

Vocational Education and Training Sector (subclass 572)
Higher Education Sector (subclass 573)
Postgraduate Research Sector (subclass 574)
Non-Award Sector (subclass 575) and
Travelled to Australia on that visa between 19 January 2022 and 19 March 2022.

Held a Working Holiday Maker Visa Subclass:

Working Holiday (subclass 417)
Work and Holiday (subclass 462) and
Travelled to Australia on that visa between 19 January 2022 and 19 April 2022.

Submitted the refund request by 31 December 2022.

If you have submitted a claim and have not received your refund, you may have received email correspondence from the Department. Please follow the instructions contained in any emails from the Department sent on either 17 or 20 February 2023 or 13 June 2023.

If you did not receive an email from the Department in February 2023, or have already responded to the email, we do not require any further action. The Department has all the information needed to progress your claim.

If the requested information is not provided by 30 June 2023 your claim will be closed.

From 1 July 2023, if you would still like to claim a refund, please log on to the Visa Refund Portal, using the log in details used when lodging your initial claim, and follow the instructions.

There is no standard timeframe for processing a refund request. The time required to assess each claim will vary as we process each claim according to the visa holder’s individual circumstances.

You can check on the status of your claim by logging into your claim through the links supplied in the original lodgement.

In certain circumstances the payer of a VAC for a Partner visa may be able to receive a refund. There are limited situations where refunds can be granted. For a list of these situations see Form 1424 - Refund request.

VAC refunds are not available if:

your Partner visa was cancelled by the Minister (unless you have requested for it to be cancelled) or
you or your sponsor have advised the Department that you are no longer in a relationship and you will no longer be pursuing a Partner visa.

To be eligible for a VAC refund your application needs to have been finalised. If your application is outstanding but you no longer wish to proceed with the application you need to:

meet the criteria for a VAC refund and
use your ImmiAccount to request the withdrawal of your application by submitting form 1446.

Prospective Marriage Visa

VAC refunds are not available if:

your Prospective Marriage visa was cancelled by the Minister (unless you have requested for it to be cancelled) or
you had lodged an application for a Partner (subclass 801) visa and paid a reduced VAC because you held a Prospective Marriage visa or
at the time your visa ceased you or your sponsor had advised the Department that you no longer intend to marry.

Follow these steps to check the status of your payment and request a refund:

Login to your ImmiAccount
From the 'My Payments' drop-down tab, select 'Manage Payments'
Previous payments and their status will be displayed
If the payment status in ImmiAccount is 'Credit' or ‘Paid’ a refund can be requested.
To request a refund:
- From the actions menu, select the 'Request Refund' option.
- A new screen will display that allows you to begin your refund request.

You will need to:

Complete Form 1424 - Refund request
Send the completed form to the office processing your application. If you don’t know the location of the office processing your application, send the completed form to your nearest office.

Generally, you will not be given a refund just because:

your RRV application was refused
you lose the travel facility remaining on your previous visa when your RRV is granted.
you did not use your RRV for any travel (regardless of the reason).

If you think we made a mistake that caused you to lodge your RRV application in error, let us know. Provide documentary evidence with your request to support your claim.

The parent sponsorship application fee cannot be refunded. Further information can be found at (Subclass 870) Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa.

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