About Ferntree Migration

Ferntree Migration is an Australian migration practice led by Cathrine Burnett, a registered migration agent (MARN 0324641) and former member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, the body now known as the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). Cathrine has worked in Australian visa and migration law since 1999 and has been a registered migration agent since 2003, and every matter the practice takes on is run under her supervision.

The practice handles visa applications across most categories, but a large share of the work involves things that have already gone wrong: a visa refused, a visa cancelled, a letter from the Department, or a case that another adviser has lodged and lost control of. Cathrine spent four years deciding these cases from the other side of the bench, and that experience shapes how every matter at Ferntree Migration is prepared.

How we decide what to take on

We only run cases we think can succeed. If your application does not have a real prospect of approval/success, we will tell you that at the first consultation, before you spend money on it. Some people find this blunt. We think it is the only honest way to practise, and it means the clients who do engage us are backed by a considered view of their chances rather than a sales pitch.

Where we work

Clients work with us from anywhere in Australia and overseas. Consultations and case work are done online, so where you live makes no practical difference. We do, however, have a physical office in the Dandenong Ranges, in the outer east of Melbourne. We can arrange a face-to-face appointment if required.

What we do

Ferntree Migration advises on and prepares visa and citizenship applications for individuals and employers, and represents clients whose visas have been refused or cancelled or who have received a letter from the Department of Home Affairs. The main areas of work are set out below.

Visa and citizenship applications

Partner, child and family visas

Onshore partner visas (subclass 820/801) and offshore partner visas (subclass 309/100), including applications for de facto partners and applications involving Schedule 3 criteria where the applicant does not hold a substantive visa. Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visas. We also offer a fixed-fee review of a partner visa application you are about to lodge or have already lodged yourself, to identify weaknesses before the Department does.

Child visas, both permanent and temporary: the Child visa (subclass 101 offshore and 802 onshore), the Dependent Child (subclass 445) temporary visa for children of a parent holding a provisional partner visa, the Adoption visa (subclass 102) and the Orphan Relative visa (subclass 117 and 837). Child visa applications often turn on custody, consent and evidence of dependency, and we deal regularly with cases where one parent is absent or uncooperative.

Parent visas, including Contributory Parent (subclass 143 and 864) and Aged Parent (subclass 804) applications, and other family visas such as Remaining Relative (subclass 115 and 835), Aged Dependent Relative (subclass 114 and 838) and Carer (subclass 116 and 836) visas.

Employer sponsored visas

Skills in Demand (subclass 482) visas across all three streams: Core Skills, Specialist Skills for higher-paid roles above the Specialist Skills Income Threshold, and the Labour Agreement stream. We handle standard business sponsorship, nomination and the visa application, and we act for the sponsoring business, the visa applicant, or both. Employer Nomination Scheme (subclass 186) visas through the Direct Entry, Temporary Residence Transition and Labour Agreement streams. Skilled Employer Sponsored Regional (subclass 494) visas.

Designated Area Migration Agreements (DAMAs). For employers in a DAMA region, a labour agreement under the relevant DAMA can open up occupations, and concessions on English, salary and age, that are not available under the standard program. We advise employers on whether a DAMA is the right route, prepare the endorsement request to the designated area representative and the labour agreement request to the Department, and then run the 482, 494 or 186 nominations and visa applications that follow.

We also advise employers on sponsorship obligations, the Skilling Australians Fund levy and responding to Department monitoring or a notice of intention to bar or cancel a sponsorship.

Skilled and talent visas

Skilled Independent (subclass 189), Skilled Nominated (subclass 190) and Skilled Work Regional (subclass 491) visas, including expressions of interest through SkillSelect and state nomination. Permanent Residence (Skilled Regional) (subclass 191) visas. National Innovation visas (subclass 858, formerly the Global Talent visa), including candidates in sport, coaching and other fields outside the priority sectors.

Student visas (subclass 500): applications, refusals and ART review

We prepare and lodge student visa applications, including for applicants with a previous refusal, a gap in study history or a complex Genuine Student statement.

The larger part of our student visa work is refusals. Under recent changes to the Tribunal’s process, many student visa refusal reviews at the ART are now decided on the papers, without an oral hearing. There is no chance to explain yourself to a member in person. The documents and written submission you lodge are the entire case, and a review lodged with the same material the Department has already rejected will almost always fail.

For that reason we offer a submission-only service for student visa reviews. You lodge the review application yourself, and we prepare the evidence and the written submission that go with it: addressing the Genuine Student requirement, financial capacity, course progression or whatever ground the Department relied on, in the form the Tribunal expects to see. Full representation, where we lodge and run the review for you, is also available.

We also respond to notices of intention to consider cancellation issued for breaches of condition 8202 (enrolment and attendance) or 8105 (work limits), including after a provider report, and we run review of student visa cancellations under section 116. A cancelled or refused student visa can trigger a section 48 bar, so we also advise on what comes next, including whether a different visa is the better path.

Temporary Graduate visas (subclass 485)

Temporary Graduate visas in the Post-Higher Education Work and Post-Vocational Education Work streams, including applications where timing, the Australian study requirement, English test validity or the police clearance requirement is in doubt. A 485 refusal is often the result of a missed deadline or a document lodged a few days late, and because the visa can usually only be applied for once, the ART review is frequently the only way back. We prepare 485 applications and run reviews of 485 refusals.

Visitor visas (subclass 600) and the Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870)

Visitor visa applications in the tourist, sponsored family and business visitor streams, including for parents visiting adult children in Australia and for applicants from countries the Department treats as higher risk. Visitor visas are refused in large numbers, usually on the basis that the Department was not satisfied the applicant was a genuine temporary entrant. Where a sponsored family stream visa is refused, or an onshore visitor applicant is refused, there is a right of review at the ART, and visitor visa refusals are one of the most common matters the Tribunal decides. We prepare visitor applications where a previous refusal or a weak travel history makes the case harder than usual, and we run reviews of visitor visa refusals.

For parents who want to stay longer than a visitor visa allows, the Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870) permits stays of up to three or five years at a time, up to a combined maximum of ten years, without the decades-long queue of the non-contributory parent program. It is a two-stage process: the child in Australia must first be approved as a parent sponsor, which involves meeting an income test and giving undertakings including for health costs, and only then can the parent apply for the visa. We handle both stages, advise families on whether the 870 or a permanent parent visa (or a sequence of the two) suits their circumstances, and act on review where a sponsorship or visa application has been refused.

Resident Return Visas (subclass 155 and 157)

A Resident Return Visa lets a permanent resident whose travel facility has expired, or is about to expire, keep travelling in and out of Australia. Where you have spent at least two of the last five years in Australia the application is usually simple. It becomes difficult when you have not: you are then relying on showing substantial ties of benefit to Australia (business, cultural, employment or personal) and, if you have been away for more than five years, compelling reasons for the absence. We prepare RRV applications for people in that position, including former permanent residents who have been overseas for many years and are now trying to return, and we run merits review of RRV refusals before the ART.

Protection visas (subclass 866) and refugee matters

Onshore Protection visa applications for people who fear persecution or serious harm in their home country, under both the refugee and complementary protection criteria. Review of Protection visa refusals before the ART, including matters previously handled under the abolished fast track process. Cathrine decided refugee cases as a Tribunal member, and protection matters are prepared here with a clear understanding of how credibility is assessed and where claims most often fail. We also advise on the interaction between protection claims and other visa options.

Australian citizenship

Applications for Australian citizenship by conferral, including applications where residence, identity or good character requirements are in issue. Responses to Department requests for further information on citizenship applications. Review of citizenship refusals before the Administrative Review Tribunal, including refusals on character grounds and refusals where the Department was not satisfied of the applicant’s identity.

Bridging visas and work rights

Bridging Visa A, B, C and E applications, including Bridging Visa B for travel while an application or review is pending, applications to have a no-work condition lifted on financial hardship or other grounds, and Bridging Visa E for people who have become unlawful and need to regularise their status before deciding what to do next.

Letters from the Department of Home Affairs

Requests for further information (section 56)

Most people who receive a section 56 letter are not sure what it means or how seriously to take it. Sometimes the request is clear, such as a police clearance or a health examination. Often it is not: a list of documents with no explanation of why they are wanted, or a question about something in the file that does not add up, with no indication of what the case officer is concerned about. A request is not a warning that the application is failing, but a thin, late or off-target response can turn it into one, and the Department is not obliged to ask twice. We look at the letter alongside your file, work out what the case officer is actually looking for and why, then assemble the evidence in a form that answers that question directly and lodge the response within the timeframe.

Natural justice letters (section 57)

Unlike a section 56 request, a section 57 letter means the Department already holds information it considers adverse and is required to put it to you before refusing on that basis. These letters can concern almost anything: doubts about a relationship, an adverse character or health finding, an employer’s financial standing, a previous visa history, or information received from a third party. The response period is short and the letter is usually the last chance to change the outcome before a refusal. We review the material the Department has relied on, gather the evidence that answers it and prepare the written response.

PIC 4020: false or misleading information and bogus documents

Public Interest Criterion 4020 applies where the Department believes false or misleading information or a bogus document has been given with a visa application, including by a third party such as an agent or an employer. A PIC 4020 finding can result in a refusal and a three-year bar on most further visa grants, and a ten-year bar where identity is in question. We respond to natural justice letters raising PIC 4020, argue for waiver on compelling or compassionate grounds where the criteria allow it, and run merits review of PIC 4020 refusals at the ART.

Responding to a Notice of Intention to Consider Cancellation (NOICC)

If you have received a notice that the Department is considering cancelling your visa, you generally have a short window to respond, often five working days for onshore holders and less in some cases. What goes into that response usually decides whether the visa survives. We prepare written responses to NOICCs (sometimes written NOIC) under sections 109, 116 and 501 of the Migration Act, gathering the evidence and addressing each ground the Department has raised, so that the matter is resolved without needing to go to the Tribunal at all where that is possible.

Refusals, cancellations and what comes after

Visa refusals and merits review at the ART

Review of visa refusals before the Administrative Review Tribunal (formerly the AAT), including partner, child, parent, Sponsored Parent (Temporary), employer sponsored, skilled, student, Temporary Graduate, visitor, Resident Return and Protection visa refusals. We prepare the review application, gather the further evidence the Tribunal will expect to see, draft submissions and appear at the hearing.

Visa cancellations

Review of visa cancellation decisions, including cancellations on character grounds under section 501 of the Migration Act, general cancellations under section 116, cancellations for incorrect information under section 109, and mandatory cancellations where the visa holder is seeking revocation. Where the Department has not yet cancelled and has only issued a notice, see the section on NOICC responses above; acting at that stage is almost always cheaper and faster than review after the fact.

Section 48 bar, Schedule 3 and onshore options after a refusal

If a visa has been refused or cancelled while you were onshore, section 48 of the Migration Act limits which visas you can apply for without leaving Australia, and Schedule 3 criteria can stand in the way of an onshore partner application if you do not hold a substantive visa. Many people are told at that point that they have no options. Sometimes that is right. Often it is not, and the answer lies in the exceptions to the bar, a Schedule 3 waiver on compelling grounds, the timing of a departure and re-entry, or a review that is still open. We map the options honestly, including the ones that involve leaving Australia, so you can make the decision with the full picture in front of you.

Ministerial intervention (sections 351 and 417)

Where the ART has affirmed a refusal or cancellation, the Minister has a personal, non-compellable power to substitute a more favourable decision under section 351 (migration decisions) or section 417 (protection decisions) if it is in the public interest. Requests are only considered in a narrow range of circumstances, most are not referred to the Minister at all, and a request does not by itself give a right to remain in Australia. We advise frankly on whether a request has any realistic prospect, and where it does we prepare the submission and supporting evidence against the Minister’s published guidelines.

Visa refused or cancelled?

A refusal or cancellation notice comes with a strict deadline to apply for review, often as short as seven days for people in detention and 21 or 28 days for most others. If you have received one, contact us straight away. We can tell you quickly whether a review application is worth making and what it would involve.