Immigration Guides

Section 57: A Guide To Natural Justice Letters

Get Natural Justice Letter Help Here.

Have you received a Natural Justice Letter?

The people at immigration are not so bad.  Usually, you will receive the letter under section 57 of the Migration Act when a case officer has formed a view that they should refuse your visa application.

The Department is being kind. The purpose of the section 57 letter (also known as a Natural Justice Letter) is to allow you to recover from a likely refusal position.

It could be that the decision-maker has missed something fundamental. Or something critical to the application simply does not appear on the Departmental file.

It could also be that the case officer is not satisfied that you have met very basic requirements. This could be either at the time of your application or the time of the Department’s decision. 

This letter is an opportunity for the case officer to be fair with you. Yes, they can be nice! What you need to do is to ensure that your application does have merits given the concern or multiple concerns raised by the departmental officer in their letter.

If your application does not have merit, you might be better off withdrawing your application. 

Whether you should respond to the Natural Justice Letter or you should simply withdraw the application it’s something that requires careful consideration.

One thing that I see all the time is people providing far more information than is required in relation to the letter. 

Providing the wrong information or too much information or information responses that are not properly worded, or which do not address the point being raised will certainly prejudice your already weak position.

To discuss how best to respond to a Natural Justice Letter, please book a consultation with me.

Your Experience?

Please share your comments with me.

I’d love to know more about your experience with applying for this visa subclass!

View Comments

    • Hi Anaïs,

      You can book a consultation with me by visiting [myvisa.com.au/appointment](http://myvisa.com.au/appointment).

      For complex matters, please schedule a formal consultation. For simpler queries, you're welcome to use my 10-minute service.

      Looking forward to helping you further! 😊

      Regards,
      Nilesh Nandan
      Immigration Lawyer & Special Counsel
      MyVisa® Immigration Law Advisory
      http://myvisa.com.au/

  • Hi, my father is received s57 natural justice due to his health and only have 7 days to response. Could you help please.

    • Thank you for contacting me. Please use this link to book in with me.
      Myvisa.com.au/appointment/
      Regards Nilesh Nandan
      Immigration Lawyer & Special Counsel
      MyVisa® Immigration Law Advisory

  • Sir,
    I have applied for 491 family sponsored visa on 25 Nov 2022 along with my family members. But today I have received the s57 and this is related to my son health report. My son is now 2 years and he is down syndrome and they have asked me to provide the comment raised by BUPA on not meeting the health requirement.
    Please advise wht I need to do.

  • Helo
    I applied for student visa on 10 june. I received s56 on 15th june about expired (29th june)Ceo. It demanded a new updated Ceo. I received s57 on 23rd june about expired Ceo. Updated Ceo was uploaded on 27th june and updated OSHC was uploaded on 31june. After that, my visa status in still on FUTHER ASSESSMENT. which causes very irriteting for me. Please guide me,how long will it take for visa finalising.

  • Hello, I applied for a tourist visa for my family to visit me in Australia through an exchange agency. My brother's visa was denied due to immigration sending letter s57 requesting proof of veracity of bank statements provided. However, the agent who was applying for the visa did not verify this letter and so the visa was denied without being able to justify the authenticity of the documents provided. Is it possible to apply the visa again? Are there any chances of a new application being approved and providing the documents more clearly?

  • Sir I received S57 natural justice from Australian embassy due to unintentionally false information about Canada refusal in 2019. Because I am unaware of that refusal because at that tym I am continuing my medical degree. So what is the possible solution of it. Please guide.

  • I got s57 natural justice because my agent doesn’t mention the previous visa refusal. Please tell me what will be chances of getting visa after this?

    • Hey mate, what was the out come??
      Can you please share the info cause I am also going through same situation

  • Hi I received a Justice letter; which I applied for subclass 600 tousist visa:

    The immigration Dept has received credit le third party information and suggeT that I I have previously
    For a fee produced bogus documents (employment) and provides these to other PNG nationals to submit as part of their visa.

    For a fee, facilitated the illegal work of PNG nations on farm in Australia.

    Iam aware that I signed a letter conformation her job employment to one of my employees to go for a tourist visa in Australia, I have no bad intention to charge my employee.
    I felt for her when her husband got drunk and came abuse her in office,, every fortnight.
    The husband is into Mariwana, achohol and called into my workplace to bash his wife up in front of Staffg.... I felt sorry for her, when she came asking me to confirm her job employment on letter I agreed and signed...

    The employee went to Ausie for holiday and came back in PNG....she is not currently working with me hence she worked with othe company.

    I didn't charge fee to anyone to use my company name to guarantee their visa..

    Iam a person's with good heart who helps others and assist without getting any bribes as I am a local business man in PNG....
    my company is known to locals to provide efficient services and assist locals in times of crises.

  • Hi Sir,
    I am a PhD applicant and received s57 Natural Justice letter stating "The Department believes this applicant to be you. As you are determined by the Foreign Minister, or a person authorized by the Foreign Minister, to be a person whose presence in Australia may be directly or indirectly associated with the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, this means that you have failed to meet Public Interest Criterion 4003(b). The Migration Act 1958 requires that your application be refused if the Minister (or a delegate) is not satisfied that you meet all of the criteria for the visa.

    Please help me out in understanding this

  • My son born in Australia. He is diagnosed with Autism level 3. He is 7 years now. He go to normal public school. I applied for permanent visa 9 months ago but received neutral justice letter for his health condition. His treatment is not more than 10k per year. What are the chances?

    • Hi,
      I would like to know how things went with ur case? I am on temporary student visa but facing the same situation with an 8yr old.

      • Dear Jason,

        Thank you for reaching out.

        Every case can be unique, especially when it involves children. If you’re facing a similar situation while on a temporary student visa, it would be beneficial to review your options and understand the best steps forward. I would recommend booking a quick chat with me so we can discuss your situation in detail and find the most suitable approach for you and your child. You can book an appointment directly here: MyVisa/appointment.

        Regards,
        Nilesh
        Immigration Lawyer & Special Counsel
        MyVisa® Immigration Law Advisory
        http://myvisa.com.au

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