Can You Reapply After a Visa Refusal? A Guide to Section 48, 48A, and 48B

A visa refusal can feel devastating if you’ve built a life in Australia. The uncertainty about your status and what to do next can be overwhelming. The good news is that a refusal doesn’t always mean the end of your migration journey, but it does mean your next steps need to be carefully planned. Acting without proper advice can make things worse and may even close doors to future visas.

This guide explains what Sections 48,48A, and 48B of the Migration Act 1958 mean, and what options you may have if your application has been refused or your visa cancelled.

Section 48: The General Bar on Applying for Another Visa Explained

You may hear of Section 48 bar, or in someone you may know of is experiencing a visa bar due to the immigration law. Typically, this bar may imply that it is from Section 48 due to a prior visa refusal or visa cancellation. Section 48 applies if:

You are in Australia, and
Since your last entry to Australia, have you had a visa refused or cancelled; and
You do not hold a substantive visa (you’re on a bridging visa, criminal justice visa, or enforcement visa);

If this applies to you, you are barred from applying for most other visas, such as a student visa and a visitor visa, while in Australia. However, if your previous substantive visa has not expired or been cancelled, you may apply for another visa unless section 48A applies (section 48A specifically bars repeat Protection visa applications). There are important exceptions. Even if s 48 applies, you may still lodge specific visa applications for:

For most other visas, to overcome the Section 48 bar, you’ll need to leave Australia and apply offshore.

Types of Section 48 Bar

Section 48A: Bar on Repeat Protection (Subclass 866) Visa Application

Section 48A imposes an additional bar on certain applicants. If your protection (Subclass 866) visa application has already been refused or your protection visa was cancelled while in Australia, you cannot apply for another protection visa onshore. This limits individuals from re-filing multiple applications to try and obtain a different outcome (separate, of course, from any available appeal processes via the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART)).

Section 48B: Ministerial Power to Lift the Bar

Section 48B gives the Minister for Immigration a personal, discretionary power to allow someone to lodge another protection (SC866) visa application, even if barred by s 48A. This is rarely used as it is reserved for exceptional cases. There is no obligation for the Minister to exercise this power, so it is not a guaranteed pathway.

What Are My Options After a Refusal?

If your visa application is refused, you may still have options:

Speak with Jason Ling, the firm’s principal and an Accredited Specialist in Immigration Law, for professional advice and guidance for their next best step, and avoid jeopardising your visa matter further.
Appeal for merits review to the ART, which replaced the former AAT in October 2024 and can review several immigration decisions on their merits. Strict deadlines apply.
If the ART affirms the refusal, you may apply a judicial review to a federal court, but only if there was a legal error in the decision-making process.
Alternatively, Ministerial Intervention can be an option, as the Minister has other personal powers to grant a visa if it is in the public interest to do so.

How Can Agape Henry Crux Help

Speak with one of our Accredited Specialists in Immigration Law, Jason Ling or Angela De Silva, for tailored visa refusal and Section 48 bar advice and assistance for your specific visa circumstances. The team of immigration lawyers specialises in handling highly complex matters. You can schedule an appointment with one of our immigration lawyers to seek professional advice by calling 02-8310 5230 or emailing us at info@ahclawyers.com.

We speak fluent English, Mandarin and Cantonese. We can also help you arrange an interpreter if this isn't your language.

This article/presentation (“publication”) does not deal extensively with important topics or changes in law and is not intended to be relied upon as a substitute for legal or other advice that may be relevant to the reader's specific circumstances. If you find this publication of interest and would like to know more or wish to obtain legal advice relevant to your circumstances, please contact our office.

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