Protection Visa Changes From 1 November 2026 and What They Mean for Applicants
Last updated 2 November 2026
From 1 November 2026, three rules changed for people with a Protection visa (subclass 866) application, for people seeking review of a protection refusal and for some Bridging visa E holders. People waiting for a decision can no longer get a Bridging visa B to travel overseas and return.
Most reviews of protection refusals at the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART) now need an upfront fee of AUD 1,863.50, unless an exemption applies. The Minister can also impose conditions 8564 and 8566 on some Bridging visa E grants.
What changed for Protection visa applicants from 1 November 2026?
Change | Who it affects | What changed |
Bridging visa B | People waiting for a Protection visa decision, including people seeking review or judicial review of a refusal | They cannot get a Bridging visa B to travel and return. Home Affairs says it will still process Bridging visa B applications lodged before 1 November. |
ART review fee | People applying to the ART to review a decision to refuse or cancel a protection visa | The fee is payable when you lodge: AUD 1,863.50, which is 50% of the migration review fee, indexed annually. It is not payable if you are in immigration detention or your application is combined with one whose fee was paid. |
Bridging visa E conditions | Holders of certain Bridging visa E grants | The Minister may impose condition 8564 (must not engage in criminal conduct) and condition 8566 (code of behaviour). They are not automatic. |
The changes come from the Migration Amendment (2026 Measures No. 1) Regulations 2026, registered on 31 October 2026. The ART fee change starts on 1 November 2026. The Bridging visa changes start the day after registration, which is also 1 November 2026.
Protection visa applicants can no longer get a Bridging visa B
From 1 November, people waiting for a Protection visa decision cannot get a Bridging visa B (BVB) to travel outside Australia and return. If your BVB travel facility has expired, you cannot apply for another BVB or ask for permission to travel. Home Affairs states this on its Protection visa page, and says it will still process BVB applications lodged before 1 November.
What the regulations change
A BVB must now be applied for together with a valid application for a substantive visa other than a Protection (Class XA) visa. A person with a Protection visa application, including one seeking merits review or judicial review of a refusal, cannot make a valid BVB application or be granted a BVB.
The Explanatory Statement says a Protection visa applicant who does not hold a substantive visa will not be entitled to a bridging visa with a travel facility, and that if they leave Australia they will not be able to re-enter.
Pending Bridging visa B applications
Home Affairs says it will still process BVB applications lodged before 1 November. The regulations also add a BVB criterion that is tested when the decision is made. Processing an application is not the same as granting it, and the sources do not say how the new criterion applies to applications already lodged. If you have a BVB application pending, get advice before you rely on it.
Other bridging visas
The change removes the BVB route to travel. It does not give you travel rights on other bridging visas. Home Affairs states that leaving Australia while another type of bridging visa is in effect ends that bridging visa. See our bridging visa guide and our guide to the Bridging visa A for how travel works on each visa.
The ART now charges an upfront fee for protection reviews
From 1 November 2026, you must pay AUD 1,863.50 when you apply to the ART for review of a decision to refuse or cancel a protection visa. The ART announcement says the same applies to a review of a decision that a protection finding would no longer be made.
Before this change, you generally paid only if the review was unsuccessful, and the ART fee notice put that fee at AUD 2,293 from 1 July 2026.
How the fee is set
The fee is 50% of the amount for a review of a reviewable migration decision under regulation 4.13. The Explanatory Statement sets it at AUD 1,863.50 at commencement, with annual indexation. You must pay it when you lodge. Without payment or a waiver, you cannot access review.
For how the ordinary migration review fee works, see our guide to the ART fee increase from 1 July 2026.
Who does not pay
No fee applies if you are a non-citizen in immigration detention, or if your application is combined with another application for which the fee was paid.
When the fee is refunded
The ART says you get a full refund if your review succeeds or your application is invalid. If you apply on or after 1 November 2026 and then withdraw, it can refund the fee only in very limited circumstances.
The regulations list further full-refund cases. They apply where you are not entitled to apply or the decision is not reviewable, where the ART varies, sets aside or remits the decision, where the Minister issues a conclusive certificate or substitutes a decision that is favourable to you, and where the application is withdrawn because the applicant has died.
For the review process itself, see our ART visa refusal guide and our visa refusal guide.
Conditions 8564 and 8566 can now be imposed on some Bridging visa E grants
The Minister may now impose condition 8564 (the holder must not engage in criminal conduct) and condition 8566 (the holder must follow the code of behaviour, where one has been signed) on certain Bridging visa E (BVE) grants. These conditions are discretionary. They apply only to a BVE granted with the condition imposed.
Which grants can carry the conditions
According to the Explanatory Statement, the Minister can impose them on:
a BVE the Minister grants personally to a person in detention
some BVEs granted to people with a compelling need to work
some BVEs granted to people who have applied for a Protection visa
The Explanatory Statement says the discretion to impose these conditions was unintentionally removed for these grants by the Migration Amendment (Cessation and Grant of Bridging Visas) Regulations 2024. The new regulations restore it.
What a breach can mean
A breach may be a ground to cancel the BVE. Cancellation is discretionary, and individual circumstances are considered. Home Affairs must send a notice of intention to consider cancellation first, and merits review and judicial review are available.
If a BVE is cancelled and you hold no other visa, you become an unlawful non-citizen and may be liable to detention and removal. The Explanatory Statement says a person who has made a valid Protection visa application would not be removed until their claims have been assessed according to law.
When do the changes apply? Dates and transition
The regulations were registered on 31 October 2026. The ART fee change starts on 1 November 2026. The Bridging visa B and Bridging visa E changes start the day after registration, which is also 1 November 2026.
Bridging visa changes
The changes apply from 1 November 2026. Home Affairs says it will still process Bridging visa B applications lodged before 1 November, and the Explanatory Statement adds a criterion tested at the time of decision. Treat a pending application as a case for advice.
ART fee: two descriptions of the transition
The regulations apply the new fee to a review of a decision made on or after 1 November 2026. They keep the old rules for a review of a decision made before that date.
The ART describes the transition by application date. Applications lodged before 1 November generally stay under the old arrangement, where an unsuccessful applicant pays afterwards. An online application started but not submitted before 12:00 am AEDT on Sunday 1 November 2026 must be restarted, with the upfront fee paid.
The two descriptions can lead to different results if your decision was made before 1 November but you apply to the ART after that date. Confirm with the ART which fee applies before you lodge. Review deadlines still apply, and your decision letter states yours.
Why the Government made these changes
The Explanatory Statement to the regulations sets out the Government's reasons. These are the Government's stated reasons, not RACC's view.
Upfront fee: the Explanatory Statement says that, in practice, many unsuccessful applicants did not pay the old fee at all. It says the old arrangement let applicants use review to extend their stay and access the labour market without an upfront contribution, even where the review was unlikely to succeed. The upfront fee is meant to be a proportionate financial disincentive for unmeritorious applications and to cover some of the cost of review.
Bridging visa B: the change is meant to reduce the incentive to lodge unmeritorious Protection visa applications to gain a BVB and keep international travel flexibility over a long period.
Bridging visa E conditions: the Explanatory Statement says the Minister's discretion was unintentionally removed in 2024, and the new regulations restore it.
The Explanatory Statement also acknowledges that the upfront fee may be a barrier to review, particularly for people with limited means. It says the 50% rate, the detention exemption and the refund for successful applicants are meant to limit that effect.
Home Affairs says a Protection visa is for people who genuinely need asylum, and not for people who want to stay longer in Australia to work.
What the changes mean in practice
These examples apply the rules above. They are general information, not advice on your case.
You are waiting for a Protection visa decision and want to travel
You cannot get a Bridging visa B. The Explanatory Statement says an applicant who does not hold a substantive visa will not be able to re-enter Australia if they leave. Get advice before you book any international travel.
You lodged a Bridging visa B application before 1 November
Home Affairs says it will still process it. The regulations add a criterion tested at the time of decision, and the sources do not say how it applies to applications already lodged. Get advice on your pending application.
Your Protection visa is refused on or after 1 November 2026
The upfront fee of AUD 1,863.50 applies when you lodge your ART review application, unless you are in immigration detention or your application is combined with one whose fee was paid.
The fee is refunded in full if your review succeeds. Your decision letter states your deadline. See our Protection visa refusal section and our ART visa refusal guide.
Your Protection visa was refused before 1 November 2026 and you have not applied for review
The regulations and the ART describe the fee transition in different ways, as set out in the dates section above. Confirm with the ART which fee applies before you lodge, and do not let your deadline pass while you check.
You are on a combined application
If your application is combined with another application for which the fee was paid, you do not pay a second fee.
You hold a Bridging visa E
Conditions 8564 and 8566 apply only if the Minister imposed them when granting your visa. Check your grant notice and VEVO. See our Bridging visa E guide.
What to do now if the Protection visa changes affect you
Check the date of your decision and the review deadline in your decision letter.
Check your bridging visa conditions in your grant notice and in VEVO.
Get advice before you book any international travel while a Protection visa application is pending.
If you plan to apply to the ART, confirm the fee with the ART before you lodge.
Use free legal help if you need it. Home Affairs says free legal advice and help with a Protection visa application is available.
Home Affairs also strongly encourages you to get advice from a registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner. RACC's registered migration agents can review your situation: book a free consultation. For the full process, read our Protection visa guide and our visa refusal guide.
Frequently asked questions
What are the Protection visa changes from 1 November 2026?
Three changes started on 1 November 2026. People waiting for a Protection visa decision cannot get a Bridging visa B. Reviews of protection refusals at the ART need an upfront fee of AUD 1,863.50. The Minister can impose conditions 8564 and 8566 on some Bridging visa E grants.
Can Protection visa applicants still get a Bridging visa B?
No. From 1 November 2026, people waiting for a Protection visa decision cannot get a Bridging visa B to travel outside Australia and return. This includes people seeking review or judicial review of a refusal. If your travel facility has expired, you cannot apply for another one.
Does the Bridging visa B change affect applications lodged before 1 November?
Home Affairs says it will still process Bridging visa B applications lodged before 1 November. The regulations also add a criterion that is tested when the decision is made, and the sources do not say how it applies to applications already lodged. Get advice if you have one pending.
How much is the ART fee for a Protection visa review from 1 November 2026?
The fee is AUD 1,863.50. It is 50% of the migration review fee and is indexed annually. You pay it when you lodge the application for review of a decision to refuse or cancel a protection visa, unless you are in immigration detention or your application is combined with one whose fee was paid.
Who does not have to pay the upfront ART fee?
You do not pay if you are a non-citizen in immigration detention, or if your application is combined with another application for which the fee has already been paid.
Is the upfront ART fee refundable?
Yes, in some cases. The ART says you get a full refund if your review succeeds or your application is invalid. If you apply on or after 1 November 2026 and then withdraw, a refund is available only in very limited circumstances.
Do the new ART fee rules apply to decisions made before 1 November 2026?
The regulations apply the new fee to reviews of decisions made on or after 1 November 2026. The ART describes the change by application date. If your decision was made before 1 November and you apply after that date, confirm with the ART which fee applies before you lodge.
What are conditions 8564 and 8566?
Condition 8564 requires the holder not to engage in criminal conduct. Condition 8566 requires the holder to follow the code of behaviour, where one has been signed. The Minister may impose them on certain Bridging visa E grants. They are not automatic for every Bridging visa E holder.
Where can I get free legal advice about a Protection visa?
Home Affairs says free legal advice and help with a Protection visa application is available, and it lists free legal help on its Protection visa page. It also encourages you to get advice from a registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner before you apply.
Official sources
Checked on 2 November 2026:
This page is general information and not migration advice. Speak to a registered migration agent about your circumstances. RACC migration agents: MARN 1572961, MARN 1172003.
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