PIC 4020: false or misleading information in a visa application

Public interest criterion 4020 is a visa requirement about false or misleading information and bogus documents. Failing it can lead to a refusal and can affect later applications for 3 years, or 10 years for identity matters.

The short answer

Public interest criterion (PIC) 4020 is a requirement in Schedule 4 of the Migration Regulations 1994. It says there must be no evidence before the Minister that the applicant has given, or caused to be given, a bogus document or information that is false or misleading in a material particular. Where a visa includes this criterion, failing it means the application can be refused.

It is about visa applications. A different power, section 109, is about cancelling a visa already granted.

What clause 4020 covers

Clause 4020(1): false or misleading information, or a bogus document, given for the visa application or for a visa held in the previous 12 months.
Clause 4020(2): the Minister must be satisfied that, from 3 years before the application until the decision, neither the applicant nor a family unit member was refused a visa for failing (1). This does not apply if the applicant was under 18 when the refused application was made.
Clauses 4020(2A) and (2B): the applicant must satisfy the Minister of their identity, with a 10 year look-back for earlier refusals on identity grounds.
Clause 4020(4): a waiver. The Minister may waive the requirements in (1) and (2), but not the identity requirements, if satisfied of compelling circumstances affecting Australia's interests, or compassionate or compelling circumstances affecting an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.

What 'material' and 'bogus' mean

Under clause 4020(5), information is false or misleading in a material particular if it was false or misleading when given and is relevant to any criterion the Minister may consider, whether or not the decision was made because of it. That is a wide test.

The Migration Act defines a bogus document as one that the Minister reasonably suspects was not issued in respect of the person, is counterfeit or altered, or was obtained because of a false or misleading statement, whether or not made knowingly. The definition turns on the Minister's reasonable suspicion.

How it connects to other notices

Where a refusal would rely on information the applicant did not give for the application, section 57 generally requires the Minister to give particulars and invite comment first. See section 57 notice of adverse information.

A visa cancelled under section 109 can in turn trigger public interest criterion 4013, which generally requires a new application to be made more than 3 years after the cancellation unless the Minister is satisfied of compelling or compassionate circumstances. See reapplying after a visa refusal.

Review rights

Whether a refusal on this ground can be reviewed depends on the visa and where the applicant was, not on the ground itself. See which visa refusals can the ART review and offshore visa refusals and ART review. Your decision letter must state the review rights where they exist.

Next step

The exact wording of the criterion and of the waiver both matter here. Where a refusal letter or notice mentions clause 4020, a registered migration agent, an Australian lawyer or a free legal service can look at it, and any review deadline in the letter still runs in the meantime. This guide describes the criterion in general terms only and is not legal advice or immigration assistance.