Judicial Review: Challenging Unlawful Migration Decisions

If your visa or citizenship application has been refused or cancelled and you believe the decision was legally flawed, you may be eligible to seek judicial review. Unlike a merits review, judicial review does not reconsider the facts of your case—it focuses on whether the decision-maker followed the law correctly. At McLean Legal, we have extensive experience representing clients in judicial review proceedings across all levels of the Australian court system.

If the Court finds that the decision was legally flawed, it may set aside the decision and refer the matter back to the original decision-maker for reconsideration.

At McLean Legal, we provide strategic legal advice and representation for judicial review matters in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA), Federal Court of Australia (FCA) and the High Court of Australia (HCA).

We have extensive experience navigating the legal intricacies of judicial review and advocating for clients whose migration decisions may have been affected by legal error.

We begin by thoroughly assessing whether your case has valid legal grounds for judicial review. If a legal error is identified, we prepare and file all necessary court documents, ensuring that your application is lodged within the strict statutory time limits.

To ensure the highest standard of legal advocacy, we often brief experienced barristers to assist with drafting detailed written submissions and to appear at the hearing. This collaborative approach ensures your case is presented with strong legal reasoning and persuasive argumentation before the court.

Throughout the process, we manage all communication with the court and the Minister’s legal representatives, and we keep you informed at every stage. In urgent cases, we can also seek injunctions or stays to prevent removal from Australia while your judicial review is underway.

Strict time limits apply for seeking judicial review. If you’ve received a negative decision, contact us immediately to protect your rights and explore your legal options.

We represent clients across Australia—including Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, and beyond—and in some cases, clients located overseas who are eligible to seek judicial review. Our remote-first model allows us to provide timely, accessible legal support wherever you are.

McLean Legal is a member of the Victoria Legal Aid (VLA) referral panel.

This means we can assess your matter and, where appropriate, apply to Victoria Legal Aid for funding on your behalf. Legal aid funding may be available to clients who do not have the financial capacity to pay for legal representation.

Victoria Legal Aid may grant legal assistance for certain migration and refugee matters in the Federal Court, Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, or the High Court. Funding is generally limited to judicial review matters and may be available where the proceedings seek to challenge the lawfulness of a person’s detention, or where there is an arguable error of law in a migration decision.

Legal aid funding is subject to strict eligibility criteria, and not all matters will be eligible for funding. To discuss your eligibility for a grant of legal assistance, please contact us.