After a Subclass 300 Refusal in 2026: What an Agent Can and Cannot Do for Your Review

Yes — an agent can lawfully act for you after a Prospective Marriage visa (Subclass 300) refusal, but only if they fall into one of three categories the Australian Department of Home Affairs recognises: a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Once appointed on Form 956, they may discuss your application with the Department, give it information, and send and receive correspondence about your application, and the Department treats that correspondence as if it came from you. That is the position set out on the Department's official Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) page, as at the July 2026 version of that page. This article is general information about how the rules work, not personalised advice on your case — the refusal record you received and the criteria it cites remain the starting point, and anything time-critical should be checked against the official source or a qualified practitioner.

Who is allowed to be paid to help me after a refusal?

Only someone who gives "immigration assistance" needs to be registered, and the official page is explicit about who may do so: a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Anyone outside those categories charging a fee for immigration assistance is charging for work they are not authorised to perform, and that is the single most useful filter when you are comparing quotes after a refusal.

There is a second, weaker role worth separating. You can appoint anyone — a friend, a relative, a community helper — purely to receive correspondence about your application, using Form 956A. That person can receive mail and notices for you; they cannot give immigration assistance. Confusing the two is common: someone may be legitimately receiving your letters while having no authority to argue your case.

Appointing an authorised recipient uses Form 956A. Appointing someone to provide immigration assistance uses Form 956. Both are revocable — the official page notes you can withdraw an appointment using the same forms.

What can an appointed agent actually do on my file?

The authorised scope is narrower than most marketing suggests. Per the Department's page, a person appointed to give immigration assistance can:

discuss your application with the Department
give the Department information
send and receive correspondence about your application

Everything else follows from those three functions. In practice, on a Subclass 300 review that means framing written submissions against the criteria the decision-maker said were not met, organising evidence so it answers those specific criteria, and managing correspondence so nothing is missed.

It does not mean any of this is guaranteed to change the outcome. The Department states plainly that if it refuses your application, it will not refund the application fee — a fact worth holding onto, because a refusal is already a sunk cost, and adding a large representation fee on top of a promise about results is where people get hurt twice.

Do I even have review rights, and who decides that?

The Department decides, and it tells you in the decision record. The official page states that if your visa is refused, the Department will tell you why it refused the visa and whether you have a right to a review of the decision. No agent can manufacture that right if the notice says you do not have one.

This is the first question to put to anyone you are considering paying: on what basis do you say I have review rights? The answer should point to the text of your refusal letter. Nothing a representative says changes what your decision notice contains: if it says no review right exists, none exists, and if it says one does, that notice is the document any reputable representative will work from.

What evidence can go into a review?

A review is not a fresh application with a new set of rules. It re-tests your case against the same Subclass 300 criteria, so useful new evidence is evidence that answers the clause the decision-maker said you failed. The criteria most often in play, per the Migration Regulations 1994, include:

Criterion	What it requires	Typical evidence direction after a refusal
300.214	You and your prospective spouse met in person after each of you turned 18	Travel records, photographs, evidence of physical presence together
300.215	You genuinely intend to marry, and the marriage is intended to take place within the visa period	Authorised marriage celebrant letter, notice of intended marriage, venue or date evidence inside the visa period
300.216	The Minister is satisfied you genuinely intend to live together as spouses	Relationship development material — communication history, shared activity, family interaction
300.221A	No impediment to the marriage under Australian law	Divorce or death certificate, or a Commonwealth statutory declaration explaining why it cannot be obtained
300.222	The sponsorship is approved and still in force	Sponsorship status; any sponsorship limitation issue
300.223	Public interest criteria are met	Health and character material
300.226	Family members must also satisfy criteria	Each included family member's own documents

Two structural points matter when you and an agent plan the evidence. First, 300.221 requires you to keep satisfying the core criteria at the time of decision, so changes after lodgement can be as consequential as the original evidence. Second, the Regulations apply a "one fails, all fail" rule through 300.226: if a family member included in the application does not meet the criteria, the primary applicant cannot be granted the visa. There is also a duty, under section 104 of the Migration Act, to notify the Department in writing of relevant changes while a matter is on foot — including the end of a relationship.

Assume a couple was refused on 300.215 because the wedding date fell outside the likely visa period. Submitting more photographs of the relationship does not answer that refusal; a celebrant's letter showing a date inside the visa window does. That is the whole logic of review evidence: it has to be aimed at the cited clause.

What can no agent legitimately promise me?

A result. No one controls the decision-maker or the tribunal. "Guaranteed approval on review" is not a service, it is a warning sign.
A refund of the visa application charge. The Department's page states the fee is not refunded when an application is refused. Any suggestion that a representation fee can recover it is false.
A review right that your notice does not give you. The notice states whether review is available.
To act without being appointed properly. Assistance requires a registered migration agent, legal practitioner, or exempt person, appointed on Form 956.
To fix the case by withholding bad news. Section 104 obligations run to you, not to your representative.
Access by controlling your ImmiAccount. The Department advises applicants to keep their own contact details current and not to share ImmiAccount credentials, precisely so it can reach you directly. Handing over your login is not part of representation.

How do I check the person I am about to pay?

Ask which of the three categories they fall into — registered migration agent, legal practitioner, or exempt person — and ask them to put it in writing. Ask what exactly they will do, expressed in the categories the Department lists: discuss, give information, and correspond. Ask which criterion your refusal letter says you failed, and what evidence answers it. Ask what happens if review is not available. A representative who is comfortable with specific, checkable answers and uncomfortable with promises is behaving correctly; the reverse is the profile of the complaints this site exists to document.

As a standing caveat: rules, criteria and review arrangements change, and this article reflects the official Subclass 300 page as at July 2026 together with the Subclass 300 criteria in the Migration Regulations 1994. Confirm the current position against the Department's latest published material before acting.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get help with my Subclass 300 review if I cannot afford a lawyer?

Help with immigration assistance can only come from a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Separately, you may appoint any person to receive your correspondence using Form 956A, although that appointment does not entitle them to give immigration assistance.

Will I get my visa application fee back if my Subclass 300 is refused?

No. The Department's official Subclass 300 page states that the application fee is not refunded if the application is refused. This holds regardless of whether you seek review or who represents you.

How do I know if I can seek review of my refusal?

The Department says it will tell you, in the decision record, why the visa was refused and whether you have a right to review that decision. Your refusal notice is the authority on this; a representative should be able to point to the passage in your letter.

Can new evidence be submitted at the review stage?

Evidence that responds to the criterion the refusal cited can be submitted, and this is the main work of a review. The Subclass 300 criteria — such as meeting in person after turning 18 (300.214), genuine intention to marry within the visa period (300.215), and genuine intention to live together as spouses (300.216) — still have to be met, and 300.221 requires continued satisfaction at decision time.

Is a migration agent allowed to guarantee a successful review?

No. No agent, lawyer or exempt person controls the outcome, and a guarantee is not something the regulatory framework recognises. Treating a guarantee as a red flag rather than a reassurance is the safer reading.

Does my representative need to be involved for me to be told about my own case?

No. The Department advises applicants to provide and maintain their own contact details, because it may contact you directly even if you have appointed a sponsor or someone else to receive correspondence or give immigration assistance.

Does a refused Subclass 300 affect a later partner visa application?

The refusal itself is a matter of record, and the criteria for the onshore or offshore partner visa differ from the Subclass 300 criteria. Whether a later application succeeds depends on the criteria for that visa and on the reasons for the earlier refusal; this should be assessed against the Department's current published requirements for the visa in question.