# Can I still take my visa refusal to the High Court if I missed the deadline?

- Jurisdiction: Australia
- Practice area: Immigration Law
- Published: 2026-10-31
- Last updated: 2026-10-31
- Canonical: https://lawasked.com/au/immigration/can-i-still-take-my-visa-refusal-high

## Question

I am currently living in Melbourne, Victoria, and I am feeling quite overwhelmed. My partner and I have been working very hard to organise our lives here, but everything has been turned upside down. On the 10th of August, I received a formal letter from the Department stating that my permanent residency visa application had been refused. I was absolutely devastated and spent the next few weeks trying to gather all my documents to lodge an appeal through the usual channels, but I was told that my specific case doesn't fit the standard review criteria. I have been speaking to a migration agent who suggested that I might need to take this matter straight to the High Court to challenge the decision itself. However, I just realised that it has been 45 days since I received that refusal letter on the 10th of August. I am terrified that because more than a month has passed, I have lost my chance to fight this. Is it too late to lodge an application now, or is there any way the court can still hear my case even though I have gone past that initial window of time?

## Summary

It depends on whether the High Court is willing to grant you an extension. While you have passed the standard 35-day deadline, the Court has the power to extend this period if you can show it is necessary for the interests of justice.

## Analysis

Under the Migration Act 1958, there is a strict time limit for taking a migration decision to the High Court. Specifically, an application for a remedy in relation to a migration decision "must be made to the court within 35 days of the date of the migration decision" [1]. Since you received your refusal letter on 10 August and it has been 45 days, you have already passed this 35-day window.

However, you are not necessarily barred from seeking help. The law provides a mechanism for the Court to forgive a late application. The High Court "may, by order, extend that 35 day period as the High Court considers appropriate if" you follow a specific process [1]. 

To ask for this extension, you must do two things:
1. Submit an application for the extension in writing to the High Court [1].
2. In that written application, you must specify "why the applicant considers that it is necessary in the interests of the administration of justice to make the order" [1].

Whether the Court actually grants this extension is not guaranteed. The Court will only grant it if it is "satisfied that it is necessary in the interests of the administration of justice to make the order" [1]. This means you must provide a very strong reason why you missed the deadline and why the Court should still hear your case despite the delay.

Because your case involves a complex legal challenge to the decision itself rather than a standard review, the outcome depends entirely on the High Court's discretion regarding your specific reasons for the delay. Note that state, provincial or local law may add further rules regarding court procedures, which you should check.

## Statutory citations

- Migration Act 1958, Section 486A - Time limit on applications to the High Court for judicial review [in force] (https://www.legislation.gov.au/C1958A00062/latest/text)
  > An application to the High Court... must be made to the court within 35 days of the date of the migration decision. (2) The High Court may, by order, extend that 35 day period as the High Court considers appropriate if: (a) an application for that order has been made in writing to the High Court specifying why the applicant considers that it is necessary in the interests of the administration of justice to make the order; and (b) the High Court is satisfied that it is necessary in the interests of the administration of justice to make the order.
- Migration Act 1958, Section 477 - Time limits on applications to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2) [in force] (https://www.legislation.gov.au/C1958A00062/latest/text)
  > An application to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (Division 2)... must be made to the court within 35 days of the date of the migration decision.

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