Employer Nomination Refused: Review Options for the Business and the Worker

Three decisions, three different review rights

An employer-sponsored visa usually rests on three separate decisions by the Department of Home Affairs:

1. Sponsorship – is the business approved as a sponsor?
2. Nomination – is the position (and the worker in it) approved?
3. Visa – does the worker meet the visa criteria?

Each decision can be refused on its own. Each one has its own rules about who can ask the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) to look at it again. Getting this wrong is costly, because the person who lodges must be the person the law allows, and the time limit is strict.

Who can apply for review of which decision

Not every refusal can be reviewed. Some sponsor and nomination refusals are excluded, for example where the business was refused as a standard business sponsor and the decision did not consider whether it was lawfully operating a business in Australia (reg 4.02(4A) and (4B)). Your refusal letter should say whether review is available and who can apply. Read it first.

Why nominations get refused: "genuine position" and other grounds

The Department must be satisfied of a list of things before it approves a nomination. For a 482 nomination, one of them is that the position is genuine and full-time (Migration Regulations reg 2.72(10)). The full-time part can be set aside if the Department thinks that is reasonable (reg 2.72(10A)).

For a 186 nomination, the Direct Entry stream requires, among other things, that the business is actively and lawfully operating in Australia, that there is a genuine need for the worker in the position under the business's direct control, and that the job is full-time for at least two years (reg 5.19(9)). The Temporary Residence Transition stream has a similar genuine-need test (reg 5.19(5)(k)).

In plain words, a "genuine position" refusal means the decision-maker was not convinced the job is real and needed in the form described. Refusals often turn on how the role was described, how it fits the business's size and activity, and whether the evidence matched. The refusal letter sets out the actual reasons. A review, or a new nomination, has to answer those reasons.

When the worker's visa is refused because the nomination failed

A 482 or 494 visa cannot be granted unless the nomination has been approved and has not ceased (482: Sch 2 cl 482.212(1); 494: cl 494.213). So if the nomination is refused, the worker's visa application will usually be refused too.

The Migration Act deals with this in s338(2)(d). For a 482 or 494 visa applied for in Australia, a refusal is only reviewable by the worker if, at the time of the refusal, one of these applies (Act s338(2)(d)(i)–(iii); the visas are prescribed in reg 4.02(1A)). The fourth limb, s338(2)(d)(iv), does not apply to the 482 or 494, because an approved nomination is a criterion for those visas (cl 482.212, 494.213):

• the worker is named in an approved nomination that has not ceased; or
• a review of the refusal to approve the sponsor is pending; or
• a review of the refusal to approve the nomination is pending.

This is why timing matters. If the business applies for review of the nomination refusal before the worker's visa is refused, the worker's own review right can be kept alive. If no review is pending and no approved nomination exists, the worker may have nothing to review.

Review or a fresh nomination?

There is often a choice between asking the ART to review the refusal and lodging a new nomination with better evidence. Neither path is right in every case.

Which path fits depends on why the nomination was refused, whether the facts have changed, and where the worker's visa application is up to. We cannot tell you which will succeed, and no one honestly can. We can tell you what each path needs.

Deadlines

An application to the ART must be made within 28 days after the day the person is notified of the decision, or 14 days if the person is in immigration detention (Migration Act s347(3)). The ART cannot extend this time for migration decisions (s347(5)). The day you are taken to be notified depends on how the letter was sent; see how a Department letter deadline is calculated. For the review process, fees and outcomes in general, see our visa refusals and review page.

The worker's position while things are decided

If the worker is in Australia, their current visa and its conditions still apply. A worker who holds a 482 and has stopped working for the sponsor needs to watch the time limits in condition 8607; see 482 visa lost job: the 180-day rule. If the worker wants to move to a different employer, a new nomination is needed; see changing employer on a 482.

How we help

We read the refusal letter with both the business and the worker in mind. We work out which decisions can be reviewed, by whom and by when, and whether review or a fresh nomination better answers the reasons given. We prepare the submissions and evidence for either path. We are registered migration agents, not lawyers.

Send us the refusal letter and the date you received it: book a consultation. For the employer side of sponsorship, see sponsor a worker. For other difficult matters, see complex cases. Related visa pages: 482 Skills in Demand, 186 Employer Nomination and 494 regional.

Frequently asked questions

Can the worker appeal a nomination refusal?

No. Review of a nomination refusal can only be sought by the person who made the nomination, which is the business (Migration Regulations reg 4.02(5)(c) for 482 and 494 nominations; reg 4.02(5)(d) for 186 nominations). The worker may have their own review right if their visa is later refused.

Should we lodge a new nomination instead?

Sometimes. If the refusal was caused by missing evidence that is now available, or the facts have changed, a new nomination can be a sensible path. If the business disagrees with how the law was applied, or the worker's visa review right depends on a pending nomination review, ART review may matter more. Get advice on the refusal reasons before you decide, because the 28-day limit keeps running.

What is a "genuine position" refusal?

It means the Department was not satisfied the position is genuine (482: reg 2.72(10)) or that there is a genuine need for the worker in the position (186: reg 5.19(5)(k) and 5.19(9)(d)). The refusal letter explains what evidence was found lacking.

What happens to the worker's visa application?

A 482 or 494 visa needs an approved nomination that has not ceased (Sch 2 cl 482.212(1) and 494.213). If the nomination is refused, the visa will usually be refused too. Whether the worker can then seek review depends on the conditions in s338(2)(d) of the Act, including whether a nomination review is pending.

Is there a fee for the ART?

Yes. An application must be accompanied by the prescribed fee (Migration Act s347(2)(c)). The amount changes, so check the ART website or our visa refusals and review page on the day you apply.

Figures current as at 29 October 2026; confirm with the Department of Home Affairs before lodgement.

Reviewed by Dr Asad Muhammad Khan, Registered Migration Agent, MARN 2619525. Checked on 29 October 2026 against the Migration Act 1958 (compilation No. 172, 8 October 2026) ss 338, 347, 347A and the Migration Regulations 1994 (compilation No. 289, 2 October 2026) regs 2.72, 4.02, 5.19 and Sch 2 cl 482.212 and 494.213. This page is general information, not migration advice for your circumstances.