Section 56: When the Department Asks for More Information

A letter arrives from the Department asking for more documents, and the first question is always the same: how long do I have, and what happens if I miss it? Section 56 requests are not the same animal as a section 57 natural justice letter, and the deadline is not in section 56 at all. Verified against the Migration Act 1958 (compilation C2026C00232) and the Migration Regulations 1994 (in force 1 July 2026), 20 August 2026.

Word for word:

"56 Further information may be sought (1) In considering an application for a visa, the Minister may, if he or she wants to, get any information that he or she considers relevant but, if the Minister gets such information, the Minister must have regard to that information in making the decision whether to grant or refuse the visa. (2) Without limiting subsection (1), the Minister may invite, orally or in writing, the applicant for a visa to give additional information in a specified way."

Two consequences most applicants miss:

• The power is discretionary — "if he or she wants to". The Department is never obliged to ask you for anything. A decision can be made on what is already on file
• Once information is obtained, the decision-maker must have regard to it. What you send in genuinely enters the decision

Section 56 vs section 57 — the difference that matters

A section 57 letter means the Department already holds something that points to refusal. A section 56 request usually means the file is incomplete. Both are answerable — but a section 57 letter is a warning, and it is answered differently. See our guide to responding to a section 57 letter.

Where the deadline actually comes from

Not from section 56. The clock is set by section 58(2): information must be given "within a period specified in the invitation, being a prescribed period or, if no period is prescribed, a reasonable period."

The prescribed periods live in regulation 2.15:

A carve-out worth knowing: regulation 2.15(2) says those periods do not apply where the Department is seeking information or comment from a third party about your health, public interest criteria, English language capacity, or a skills assessment. Those requests run on their own timing.

Extensions are possible in some circumstances — regulation 2.15(4) prescribes a further period of 5 days (in detention), 7 days (in Australia, not detained) or 7 days offshore, and 28 days where the Minister so decides. An extension is never automatic, and asking for one late is not the same as having one.

Note: regulation 2.16 is often cited for these deadlines. It is not about response periods at all — it governs notification of the decision on a visa application. If a source cites 2.16 for your response deadline, treat everything else on that page with caution.

What happens if you do not respond

Section 62(1): where you were invited to give additional information and did not give it before the time ended, "the Minister may make a decision to grant or refuse to grant the visa without taking any action to obtain the additional information."

The counterpart is section 63(2), which restrains the Department from refusing before the first of these happens: the information is given, you say you do not wish to give it or do not have it, or the time ends. So the structure is: section 63 holds the decision back while your window runs; section 62 releases it the moment the window closes.

Practically — silence does not pause anything. It converts your file into a decision on the material already there, which is usually the material that prompted the request.

When the clock starts

Not when you read the letter. Sections 494B and 494C set out how the Department gives documents and when they are deemed to have been received — by post, by email, by fax, in person. A letter emailed to an address you no longer check is still taken to have been received. Two practical rules follow:

1. Keep your contact details current with the Department, and with your agent, every time they change

2. Count your deadline from the deemed date of receipt, not from when you opened the envelope

How to answer a section 56 request properly

1. Identify what was actually asked. Answer the request in front of you, item by item, in the same order

2. Send complete documents, not samples. Partial evidence invites a second request you may not receive

3. Explain what you cannot supply, and why. A short covering submission that accounts for a missing document is stronger than silence about it

4. Certify and translate properly. Documents in another language need an accurate English translation

5. Lodge inside the window, not on the last hour. Upload failures do not extend a prescribed period

6. Keep proof of lodgement — the ImmiAccount confirmation is your record

Where section 56 responses go wrong

1. Assuming the deadline is negotiable because the request was "just for documents"

2. Answering a section 57 letter as if it were a section 56 request — adverse information needs a substantive response, not just documents

3. Missing the deemed-receipt rules and losing days before the letter was ever read

4. Sending everything except the one item that prompted the request

5. Assuming no further request means everything is fine — the Department is never obliged to ask again

Help with a Department request — Australia-wide

Migration Vision responds to section 56 and section 57 letters for clients across Australia and overseas — reading the request against the criteria it is really testing, assembling the evidence, and lodging inside the window. Send us the letter the day it arrives; the clock is already running. Related reading: responding to a section 57 letter · visa refusals and appeals.

Reviewed by Dr Asad Muhammad Khan, Registered Migration Agent, MARN 2619525. Updated 20 August 2026 — sections 56, 57, 58, 62, 63, 494B and 494C verified against the Migration Act 1958 (compilation C2026C00232) and the prescribed periods against regulation 2.15 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (compilation in force 1 July 2026) on legislation.gov.au. This article is general information, not migration advice for your circumstances.