PIC 4020

Public Interest Criterion 4020

PIC 4020 enables refusal of a visa if an applicant provides a bogus document or information that is false or misleading in relation to their application, or if the Minister is not satisfied of an applicant’s identity.

If PIC 4020 is part of the criteria for the particular visa you have applied for you must satisfy PIC 4020 in order to be granted your visa.

A refusal under PIC 4020 can stop you from being granted another visa for 3 years (bogus documents or false or misleading information) or 10 years (identity), so it is important to respond carefully if the Department raises a concern.

Has your visa been refused or cancelled?

Visas affected by PIC 4020

If you have applied for any of the following visas, you must satisfy PIC 4020:

skilled migration visas
business visas
temporary visas
student visas
family visas.

Identity requirement

PIC 4020 requires that you satisfy the Department of your identity to be granted a visa (where that visa includes PIC 4020 as part of the criteria).

If the Department is not satisfied of your identity your visa may be refused.

This requirement has applied since 22 March 2014.

Non-grant period

If your visa is refused under PIC 4020 because you did not satisfy the Department of your identity, you may not be granted a visa for a period of ten years (where that visa includes PIC 4020 as part of the criteria).

Waiver

There is no waiver available for the identity requirement or the ten year non-grant period.

Members of your family unit

If your visa is refused because you did not satisfy the Department of your identity, anyone who has you listed as a member of their family unit will also be refused. These family members will also be prevented from being granted another visa (where that visa includes PIC 4020 as part of the criteria) for ten years.

Bogus documents or information that is false or misleading

Visa applicants must not provide bogus documents or information that is false or misleading in a material particular with their visa application.

Your visa application might be refused, if you or any of the members of your family unit:

provide a bogus document or information that is false or misleading as part of your current visa application
or
previously provided a bogus document or information that is false or misleading in relation to a visa that you held in the 12 months before making your current application.

Non-grant period

If your visa application is refused because you or any of the members of your family unit provide bogus documents or information that is false or misleading in a material particular, you might be prevented from being granted a visa for three years.

Waiver

If the Department is considering refusing your visa because it believes you have provided bogus documents or false or misleading information or (where that visa includes PIC 4020 as part of the criteria), you must provide reasons why the visa should be granted. These reasons must be either:

compelling circumstances affecting Australia
or
compelling or compassionate reasons affecting an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.

This also applies if you have been refused a visa for providing a bogus document or information that is false or misleading in the last three years and you apply for a new visa.

Members of your family unit

If your visa is refused because you provided a bogus document or information that is false or misleading, anyone in your application who has you as a member of their family unit might also be refused. These family members might also be prevented from being granted another visa for three years.

Common situations

Common PIC 4020 situations

In our experience, PIC 4020 concerns often arise from:

fraudulent documents supplied by a third party, such as an education or recruitment agent, without the applicant knowing;
differences between the work history, study or travel history in different visa applications;
not declaring a previous visa refusal, a criminal conviction or a relationship;
bank statements, employment references or qualifications that cannot be verified;
inconsistent names or dates of birth across identity documents.

Information can be false or misleading even if you did not intend to mislead anyone, but it must relate to a material particular, meaning it was relevant to the decision. The “12 month” rule means information given in an earlier application can also be considered if it relates to a visa you held in the 12 months before your current application.

Before lodging, check every document and answer carefully. If you have already given incorrect information, ask for advice about correcting it before the Department raises it with you.

Chance to comment

If you are unable to satisfy the Department of your identity, or your application includes a bogus document or false or misleading information, the Department will usually notify you and ask you to provide comments within a specified time period, often in a section 57 natural justice letter. This is your opportunity to explain any error, provide correct information and, if needed, give reasons why the requirement should be waived. Get advice before you reply, because what you say can be used against you.

Review rights

If your visa application is refused, you might have the right to have the decision reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART), which replaced the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) on 14 October 2024. Your refusal letter will tell you what review rights are available and the deadline to apply, which is usually 28 days if you are in Australia. The ART can look at whether the information was actually false or misleading in a material particular, and whether a waiver should apply.

Future visa applications

If you are refused under PIC 4020, you can make a new visa application but the following conditions will apply:

if you have not left Australia since your application was refused and you do not hold a valid visa, you can only apply for certain specified visas listed in Form 1026i Limitations on applications in Australia
if you are in Australia or outside Australia and hold another visa (besides a Bridging visa) you can make a new visa application.

If you have been refused a visa for providing a bogus document or information that is false or misleading in the last three years and you apply for a new visa (where that visa includes PIC 4020 as part of the criteria), you must provide reasons why the visa should be granted. These reasons must be either:

compelling circumstances affecting Australia
or
compelling or compassionate reasons affecting an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.