_edited.png)
Section 116 Visa Cancellation Australia 2026: Grounds, Notice and Response
Section 116 of the Migration Act 1958 is the general visa-cancellation power. It contains multiple cancellation grounds and a statutory response process for ordinary cancellation decisions.
Common section 116 grounds
Section 116 can apply where a fact or circumstance on which grant was based no longer exists, where the relevant fact never existed, where the holder or another required person breached a visa condition, where the holder's presence creates specified health, safety or good-order risks, where the visa should not have been granted because of legal contravention, or where a prescribed cancellation ground applies.
Current Act: Migration Act 1958 — section 116.
Student visa grounds
Section 116(1)(fa) contains student-specific grounds relating to whether the holder is or is likely not to be a genuine student, and conduct in Australia not contemplated by the visa. Other student cancellation regimes and prescribed grounds may also be relevant depending on the facts.
Identity and incorrect information
Separate subsections permit cancellation where the Minister is not satisfied as to identity or where incorrect information was taken into account in specified immigration decisions and the conduct is not covered by the section 109 information-cancellation regime.
The section 119 notice
For an ordinary section 116 cancellation process, section 119 generally requires written notice identifying the apparent cancellation ground and relevant information, and inviting the visa holder to show either that the ground does not exist or that there is a reason the visa should not be cancelled.
Permanent visa limitation
Section 117 contains an important limitation: a permanent visa cannot be cancelled under section 116(1) while its holder is in the migration zone and was immigration-cleared on last entering Australia. Other cancellation powers may still operate where their requirements are met.
For visa-condition rules, see the Australian Visa Conditions Database.
For review pathways, see ART Migration and Protection Review 2026.
