Fees · Refunds
Refunds of the visa application charge: when the Department refunds, when it does not, the nomination that fails, and Form 1424
The visa application charge is the price of having an application considered, and the Department does not give it back when the consideration goes badly: a refusal is the consideration, and a withdrawal is the applicant’s choice not to have it. The money comes back in the circumstances the regulations list, which are about the application never having been an application, or the payment never having been due, or the applicant having died, or, for the sponsored visas, the employer’s nomination having failed so that the visa application cannot succeed and is withdrawn. This guide sets out each refund the regulations require and each the Department may make, the withdrawn application that is sometimes refunded and usually not, the sponsorship charge and the levy with their own rules, the request on Form 1424 and what it needs, the time and the account, and the agent’s fee, which is a different contract and a different question.
By Keshab Chapagain, registered migration agent (MARN 1576536) since 2015 · WIDEN, Sydney · Reviewed October 2026
Keshab Chapagain · MARN 1576536 · Registered since 2015 - Refused
- No refund
- Withdrawn
- Usually no refund; exceptions for sponsored visas and lodgement mistakes
- Refunded
- Invalid application; paid in error or twice; applicant died; nomination refused or withdrawn and visa withdrawn in writing; the Department’s error
- Nomination charge
- Not refunded for a refusal
- SAF levy
- Narrow refund rules
- Request
- Form 1424 with evidence; paid to whoever paid
The migration agent that other migration agents learn from. WIDEN is an OMARA-approved CPD provider — our training is rated ★4.8 by 40+ registered migration agents.
About the CPD →MARN 1576536
What the charge is for
The visa application charge is a charge imposed by legislation on the making of a visa application, payable in full for a valid application to exist, in instalments for a few subclasses, at the rate in force on the day of lodgement for each applicant. It is not a fee for a visa; it is a charge for the application, and it is earned by the Department when the application is made, whatever the Department then decides. The regulations provide for refunds in listed circumstances and the Minister has a limited discretion beyond them, and outside those the charge is kept. The rates are on the fees page.
Refused applications
A refused application is one the Department considered and decided, and the charge is not refunded, in any subclass, for any reason for the refusal, including a refusal the applicant considers wrong, a refusal on a technicality, or a refusal after years in the queue. Review at the Tribunal carries its own fee and no refund of the charge if the review succeeds, because the application is then granted rather than refunded. The financial consequence of a refusal is therefore the charge, the review fee if review is sought, and the charge again for any fresh application, which is why the decision to lodge, and the decision to withdraw before a refusal where one is coming, are made with the money in view. The refusal guide covers what follows a refusal.
Withdrawn applications
An applicant may withdraw an application in writing at any time before decision, and withdrawal avoids a refusal on the record, the section 48 bar where it would apply, and PIC 4020 findings where the application contained an error; it does not, in the ordinary case, recover the charge, because the regulations do not provide a general refund for withdrawal and the Department does not make one. The exceptions are the sponsored visa withdrawn after the nomination failed, below; an application lodged by mistake, the wrong subclass or a duplicate, and withdrawn in writing promptly, which the Department has refunded under its discretion where the mistake is shown; and a withdrawal the Department itself invited because of its own error. An applicant who withdraws to protect the record has spent the charge on the protection. The withdrawal guide sets out when it is worth it.
The sponsored visa whose nomination fails
The 482, 494 and 186 visa applications depend on an employer's nomination, and the regulations provide that where the nomination is refused, or is withdrawn by the employer, and the visa applicant then withdraws the visa application in writing, the visa application charge is refunded to the person who paid it. The sequence matters: the nomination's refusal or withdrawal first, then the written withdrawal of the visa application, then the refund request with the nomination decision and the withdrawal attached. A visa application that is refused because the nomination was refused, rather than withdrawn by the applicant, is a refused application and is not refunded, which is why an applicant whose nomination has failed withdraws the visa application rather than letting it be decided. The employer's nomination charge is not refunded for a refusal of the nomination. The nomination refusal guide covers the nomination side.
Invalid applications and payments in error
An application that does not meet the requirements for a valid application, lodged on the wrong form, by a person who could not apply for that visa where they were, for a subclass that was closed, without a required document the regulations make a validity requirement, is not an application at all; the Department notifies the applicant that it was invalid, and the charge paid with it is refunded in full, because there was nothing to consider. A charge paid twice, a charge paid at a higher rate than applied, a charge paid for an applicant who was not in the application, and a charge paid where no charge was due are refunded on request with the payment evidence. The refund in these cases is a right, not a discretion, and the Department pays it on the form.
A deceased applicant, and the Department's error
Where an applicant dies before the application is decided, the charge is refunded to the applicant's estate or to the person who paid it, on the death certificate and the form; the applications of family members included with the deceased are in the position the death guide describes, and their charges follow the outcome of their own applications. Where a visa was granted but could not be used because of an error by the Department, a grant with the wrong dates or conditions that the Department could not correct in time, or where the Department's own mistake caused the application to fail or the charge to be paid, the Department refunds under its discretion on request with the evidence of the error. These are the cases in which the Department treats itself as the cause, and they are rare.
The second instalment
A few visas, the contributory parent visas and some others, charge the visa application charge in two instalments, the second payable before grant; an applicant who withdraws before the second instalment is due does not pay it, and a second instalment paid for a visa that is then not granted is refunded. The English language charge payable by an adult applicant without functional English before the grant of a permanent visa is refunded where the visa is not granted. The first instalment follows the ordinary rules.
Sponsorship and nomination charges, and the levy
The standard business sponsorship charge and the nomination charge are paid by the employer and are not refunded for a refusal of the sponsorship or the nomination, nor for a withdrawal, outside the error and invalidity cases. The Skilling Australians Fund levy, paid with each nomination, is refundable under its own legislation in narrow circumstances: where the sponsorship or the nomination is refused, except where the refusal was on the ground of false information; where the nomination is approved but the visa is refused on health or character grounds; where the nomination is withdrawn before decision in some cases; and where the visa holder does not commence or leaves the employer within the first year of a 482 nomination, for the remaining years. A nomination refused for an ordinary reason, labour market testing or the market rate, returns the levy and not the nomination charge, and a nomination withdrawn by the employer after lodgement returns the levy only where the rules say. The testing exemptions guide sets out what a wrongly claimed exemption costs on this measure.
Form 1424 and the request
- Identify the ground: invalid application, payment in error, death, nomination refused or withdrawn with the visa withdrawn, the Department's error, or the second instalment.
- Complete the Department's refund request form, Form 1424, identifying the application, the transaction reference, the charge and the person who paid.
- Attach the evidence: the invalidity notice, the payment receipts, the death certificate, the nomination decision and the written withdrawal, the correspondence showing the error.
- Give the account details for the refund, which is paid to the person who paid the charge, by the method it was paid where possible.
- Lodge through ImmiAccount or as the form directs, and allow the weeks the Department takes; a refund that is a right is paid, and one under the discretion is decided with reasons.
The agent's fee
A registered migration agent's professional fee is paid under the agent's agreement with the client, governed by the Code of Conduct, and it is a different question from the Department's charge: the agreement states what the fee covers, which is the work, and whether any part is refundable if the application is withdrawn or refused, which for most agreements it is not once the work is done. A client who believes the agent did not do the work has a complaint under the Code; a client whose application was refused has a refused application and an agreement that said so. The Department's charge and the agent's fee are two sums, two payees and two sets of rules. The agent cost guide sets out what agents charge and on what terms.
Book a consultation — $330 inc. GST, credited
General information only, current at October 2026; not advice on your own case. Regulations 2.12F and 2.12H of the Migration Regulations 1994 (refund of the visa application charge and the English language charge), the Migration (Skilling Australians Fund) Charges Act 2018 and its regulations on refunds of the levy, and the Department’s Form 1424, as in force at the date above; the Department’s discretionary refunds are made under its policy and the current position governs. Outcomes depend on the Department’s assessment of each request; no registered migration agent can guarantee a result (Code of Conduct, Migration Agents Regulations). Keshab Chapagain, MARN 1576536.
Not sure which visa fits you?
Answer three questions. An automated guide points you to the route that usually applies. General information only.
Ask Keshab a question — it costs nothing
Tell Keshab your situation and your question. Keshab reads it personally and replies within a business day. Asking costs nothing. Advice on your own case is the paid consultation.
Ready now? Skip the form. Pick a time and talk to Keshab directly — your documents on the table, a straight answer, and a written summary afterwards. $330 inc. GST, credited toward your fee if you engage.
Pick a time — no enquiry needed →Questions we get asked first
My visa was refused. Do I get the charge back?
No. The visa application charge pays for the Department to consider the application, and a refusal is the consideration; the charge is not refunded for a refusal, however the refusal came about, and the Department's position on that is uniform. The exceptions are specific: where the application was never valid, where the charge was paid in error, where the applicant died, and for sponsored visas where the nomination failed and the visa application was withdrawn in writing.
What if I withdraw the application?
Usually no refund. A withdrawn application has been received and work has been done on it, and the regulations do not provide a general refund for withdrawal. The exceptions are the sponsored visas, where a visa application withdrawn in writing after the nomination was refused or withdrawn is refunded, and an application withdrawn because of a mistake by the applicant in lodging it, in limited cases the Department accepts. Withdrawing to avoid a refusal, which is often the right thing to do for the record, does not recover the charge.
The employer's nomination was refused. Is my 482 charge refunded?
Yes, if you withdraw the visa application in writing. The regulations provide for a refund of the visa application charge where the nomination that the application depends on has been refused or withdrawn and the applicant withdraws the visa application; the withdrawal is lodged, the refund is requested on the form, and the charge is returned to the person who paid it. The nomination charge the employer paid is not refunded for a refusal, and the Skilling Australians Fund levy has its own narrow refund rules.
I paid twice, or paid when no charge was due. What then?
A charge paid in error, paid twice, or paid for an application that was invalid and so never made, is refunded on request, with the evidence of the payment and the error. An invalid application, one that did not meet the requirements to be a valid application, is treated as never having been lodged and the charge is returned, which is the one case where a refused outcome comes with money back, because there was no outcome.
How do I ask for the refund?
On the Department's refund request form, Form 1424, lodged through ImmiAccount or as the form directs, identifying the application, the charge, the ground for the refund and the person who paid, with the evidence, the withdrawal letter, the nomination refusal, the death certificate, the payment receipts, and the account to which the refund is to go; the refund is paid to the person who paid the charge, which is the applicant, the employer or the agent, and takes weeks. A refund of a charge paid by credit card goes to the card where it can.
What does the consultation cost?
A$330 inc. GST for 30 minutes by video with Keshab Chapagain (MARN 1576536), credited in full if you engage WIDEN. The refund request itself does not need an agent; the consultation is for the decision that precedes it, whether to withdraw an application, and for the sponsored cases where the nomination's failure and the visa's withdrawal have to be sequenced.
Keep reading