Section 48 Bar Australia: Exemptions and Your Options
The section 48 bar is one of the most misunderstood provisions in Australian immigration law. It catches people at their most vulnerable — after a visa refusal, still in Australia, unsure what they can do next.
I have acted for many people in exactly this position. The bar is strict, but it is not the dead end it first appears. What matters is knowing precisely which applications remain open to you, and not making it worse by lodging the wrong one.
What is the section 48 bar?
Section 48 of the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) stops a person who is in Australia, and who does not hold a substantive visa, from applying for most visas onshore if — since they last entered Australia — they have had a visa application refused or a visa cancelled.
A "substantive visa" is any visa other than a bridging visa, a criminal justice visa or an enforcement visa. So once your substantive visa has expired and you are living on a bridging visa after a refusal, the bar bites.
The purpose is to stop repeated, unmeritorious onshore applications being used to prolong a stay. It applies automatically. A case officer has no discretion to set it aside because your circumstances are sympathetic.
When does the bar apply to you?
- You are physically present in the migration zone (in Australia).
- You do not hold a substantive visa.
- Since you last entered Australia, a visa application has been refused, or a visa has been cancelled.
The bar attaches from the moment of the refusal or cancellation — not from when your review runs out. This is the point most people miss.
If you are refused, apply to the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), and remain in Australia on a bridging visa, you are barred throughout the review. You cannot simply lodge a fresh application while you wait.
One important nuance: it is the refusal since your last entry that counts. If you departed and re-entered Australia after the refusal on a new substantive visa, the earlier refusal no longer triggers the bar.
Which visas can you still apply for?
Section 48 does not bar everything. Regulation 2.12 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) prescribes the visa subclasses you can still lodge onshore despite the bar. The most commonly relevant are:
The partner visa exemption is the one I use most often. A person barred under section 48 can still lodge a subclass 820 partner application onshore — but that pathway carries its own trap, which I explain next.
The skilled visa exemption is narrower than it looks. It is available only where you have been invited to apply through SkillSelect and you meet the conditions in Regulation 2.12. It is not a general right for any skilled applicant to apply onshore after a refusal. <!-- VERIFY: confirm current reg 2.12 SkillSelect-invited conditions and included subclasses (189/190/491) as at 1 July 2026 -->
The Schedule 3 trap for partner visas
If you lodge an onshore partner visa (subclass 820) while affected by the section 48 bar, you will almost always be an applicant who does not hold a substantive visa. That means you must satisfy the Schedule 3 criteria — unless the Department accepts there are compelling reasons not to apply them.
This is where many onshore partner applications fail. Being in a genuine relationship is not enough on its own; you also have to clear the Schedule 3 hurdle. Getting the "compelling reasons" waiver right is a technical exercise, and the evidence you file at lodgement matters enormously.
I have written a separate, detailed guide on this: see Schedule 3 waiver. If you are section 48 barred and considering a partner visa, read it before you lodge.
Protection visas: sections 48A and 48B
There is a separate bar for protection visas. Section 48A prevents a person who has already had a protection visa refused or cancelled from making a further protection visa application while in the migration zone.
Only the Minister can lift that bar, using the personal power in section 48B. Like all of the Minister's personal powers, it is non-compellable — the Minister is not obliged to consider or exercise it.
How long does the bar last?
Section 48 is not a penalty that expires after a set time. It continues to operate for as long as three things remain true: you are in Australia, you do not hold a substantive visa, and the refusal or cancellation still stands against you.
That has two practical consequences. First, simply waiting does not remove the bar — a year on a bridging visa leaves you exactly where you started. Second, the bar can be brought to an end by changing one of those facts: obtaining a substantive visa (through an exempt subclass), leaving Australia, or having the original decision set aside on review.
This is why strategy matters more than patience. The question is never "how long until this lifts?" — it is "which of these facts can I lawfully change, and how?".
A common scenario
A situation I see often runs like this. A person is in Australia on a student visa. The visa is refused on renewal — perhaps over finances or the genuine student requirement. They are granted a bridging visa while they apply to the ART, and they assume they can lodge a different visa in the meantime.
They cannot. Section 48 bars that new application. If they lodge it anyway, it is invalid, the money may be wasted, and they have lost time they did not have.
The right first move is to test the refusal at the ART, and in parallel to work out whether an exempt visa genuinely fits — most often a partner visa, if there is a genuine relationship, keeping the Schedule 3 requirements squarely in view. Sequencing those steps correctly is usually the difference between a workable outcome and a dead end.
What are your real options?
When someone comes to me with a section 48 problem, we work through a short, disciplined list:
1. Test the refusal itself. If the original refusal can be overturned at the ART or on judicial review, the bar problem disappears with it. The first question is always whether the decision was lawfully made.
2. Identify an exempt visa that genuinely fits. A partner visa, a protection claim, or (in narrow cases) an invited skilled visa may be open to you. The application has to be a real one that you can actually satisfy — not a holding move.
3. Consider departing and applying offshore. Sometimes the cleanest solution is to leave Australia and lodge from overseas, where section 48 does not apply. It is disruptive, but it is often the most certain route.
4. Ministerial intervention as a last resort. After a review decision, the Minister may substitute a more favourable outcome under section 351, assessed against the ten criteria in the 17 September 2025 Ministerial Instructions. This is not a way to "lift" section 48 to lodge a new application — it operates on the decision after review. I explain it fully in my ministerial intervention guide.
Mistakes that make section 48 worse
Some of the most damaging errors I see are not the original refusal at all — they are what people do next.
Lodging an invalid application. Applying for a barred subclass does not "work around" section 48. The application is invalid. It does not create rights, it can waste a substantial visa application charge, and it burns time you may not have before a review deadline.
Letting the ART clock run out. Because the bar attaches immediately, people sometimes focus on new applications and miss the one thing that could actually remove the bar — a successful review of the original decision. ART time limits are short and rarely extended.
Self-lodging a partner visa without addressing Schedule 3. The partner visa is exempt from section 48, so it is tempting to lodge it quickly. But if Schedule 3 is not properly addressed at lodgement, the application can fail on that ground alone, regardless of how genuine the relationship is.
Leaving Australia without advice. Departing can be the right answer, but it can also trigger other consequences — for example, re-entry bars or the practical realities of the offshore visa you then have to satisfy. Understand the whole picture before you book a flight.
What to do if you think you are barred
- Do not lodge another visa application until you have taken advice — the wrong application can waste money and time, and occasionally makes things worse.
- Find your refusal or cancellation letter and note the exact date of the decision.
- Check any review deadline immediately — ART time limits are short and are not usually extended.
- Get a proper assessment of whether an exempt visa, a review, or an offshore application is your best path.
A refusal is not the end. The section 48 bar narrows your options, but with the right strategy there is very often a lawful way forward. If you are unsure where you stand, I am happy to work through it with you.
Questions and answers
Does the section 48 bar apply while I am waiting for my ART review?
Yes. The bar attaches from the date your visa was refused or cancelled, not from when your review is finalised. While you wait for the Administrative Review Tribunal on a bridging visa, you remain barred from lodging most new onshore applications. If the refusal is overturned on review, the section 48 problem falls away with it.
Which visas can I still apply for onshore if I am section 48 barred?
Regulation 2.12 of the Migration Regulations 1994 prescribes the exceptions. The most common are partner visas (subclass 820/801), protection visas (subclass 866), medical treatment visas (subclass 602), Special Category visas (subclass 444), bridging visas, and — in limited SkillSelect-invited cases — certain skilled visas. The right choice depends entirely on your circumstances.
Can I apply for a partner visa in Australia if I am section 48 barred?
Yes, the partner visa is an exempt subclass, so the bar does not stop you lodging it onshore. But because you will not hold a substantive visa, you also have to satisfy the Schedule 3 criteria unless the Department accepts there are compelling reasons to waive them. That waiver is where many onshore partner applications are lost, so the evidence you file at lodgement is critical.
What is the difference between section 48 and section 48A?
Section 48 is the general bar on applying for most visas onshore after a refusal or cancellation. Section 48A is a separate, specific bar on making a further protection visa application after a protection visa has been refused or cancelled. Only the Minister can lift the section 48A bar, using the personal power in section 48B.
Does leaving Australia remove the section 48 bar?
Section 48 only applies to applications made while you are in Australia. If you depart and apply from offshore, the bar does not apply to that application. For some people this is the most certain path forward, although it needs to be weighed against the disruption and the requirements of the offshore visa you intend to apply for.
Can the Minister waive the section 48 bar?
There is no general ministerial power to waive section 48 so that you can lodge a new application. For protection visas, the Minister can lift the section 48A bar under section 48B. More broadly, after a review decision the Minister may substitute a more favourable outcome under section 351, assessed against the ten criteria in the 17 September 2025 Ministerial Instructions — but that operates on the decision, not as a way around section 48.