CANBERRA — Australia's new protection-visa rules took effect on Sunday, November 1, changing both what it costs to challenge a refusal and whether an applicant can travel while the case is decided. People seeking a review of most protection visa decisions must now pay an application fee of A$1,863.50 — about US$1,300 — when they lodge the review with the Administrative Review Tribunal, the tribunal said, in a requirement introduced through amendments to the Migration Regulations 1994 and reported by Dragon Media. Until now, applicants generally paid a fee only if their review was unsuccessful.

Source: Dragon Media, Nov 1, 2026

The fee applies to reviews of decisions to refuse or cancel a protection visa, and to certain decisions withdrawing a protection finding. Non-citizens held in immigration detention are exempt, as are applicants whose cases can be combined with another application for which a fee has already been paid, WiseVoter reported. Applicants who succeed in their review, or whose applications are found to be invalid, receive a full refund; refunds for applications withdrawn on or after November 1 are available only in very limited circumstances. Anyone who started an online application before November 1 but did not submit it before midnight must begin a new application and pay the upfront fee, while applications lodged before November 1 generally remain under the previous arrangement.

Source: WiseVoter, Nov 1, 2026

The same regulations — the Migration Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026 (F2026L01448) — also restrict travel. From November 1, the new restrictions prevent certain permanent Protection (Class XA) visa applicants, including people pursuing merits or judicial review, from making a valid application for a Bridging Visa B or satisfying its grant requirements while their protection matter is pending, migration advisers iExcel Group explained. A Bridging Visa B is the visa that lets a person in Australia on a bridging visa leave the country and return lawfully; the restrictions apply to applications made on or after November 1, do not apply to earlier applications, and do not automatically cancel a Bridging Visa B already granted.

Source: iExcel Group migration briefing, Nov 2026

Together the two measures tighten the path for people seeking protection in Australia: challenging a refusal now requires finding A$1,863.50 upfront — yaani, roughly the price of a month's rent in many Australian cities, payable before the case is even heard — and leaving Australia for a family emergency while a case is pending may no longer be possible for many applicants. The changes are part of a wider 2026 migration tightening in Australia, but Sunday's commencement is specific and immediate: it is the date, not a proposal, and it applies to new review and travel applications lodged from today.