# Giving documents by Minister where no requirement to do so by section 494B method

> act-s494A — as in force on 2026-06-04 — C2026C00232 · Compilation No. 171 — https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2026C00232/latest/text

494A Giving documents by Minister where no requirement to do so
         by section 494B method
          (1) If:
                (a) a provision of this Act or the regulations requires or permits
                    the Minister to give a document to a person; and
                (b) the provision does not state that the document must be given:
                      (i) by one of the methods specified in section 494B; or
                     (ii) by a method prescribed for the purposes of giving
                          documents to a person in immigration detention;
              the Minister may give the document to the person by any method
              that he or she considers appropriate (which may be one of the
              methods mentioned in subparagraph (b)(i) or (ii) of this section).
               Note:      Section 494D deals with giving documents to a person’s authorised
                          recipient.

          (2) If a person is a minor, the Minister may give a document to an
              individual who is at least 18 years of age if the Minister reasonably
              believes that:
                (a) the individual has day-to-day care and responsibility for the
                    minor; or
                (b) the individual works in or for an organisation that has
                    day-to-day care and responsibility for the minor and the
                    individual’s duties, whether alone or jointly with another
                    person, involve care and responsibility for the minor.
          (3) However, subsection (2) does not apply if subsection 52(3C)
              (which relates to giving notifications in the case of combined
              applications) applies in relation to the minor.









          (4) If the Minister gives a document to an individual, as mentioned in
              subsection (2), the Minister is taken to have given the document to
              the minor. However, this does not prevent the Minister giving the
              minor a copy of the document.
          (5) This section does not apply to the giving of any of the following
              documents:
               (a) a document relating to the proposed cancellation of a visa;
               (b) a document relating to the cancellation of a visa;
               (c) a document relating to the revocation of the cancellation of a
                    visa;
               (d) a document relating to a decision not to revoke the
                    cancellation of a visa.
               Note 1:      The Minister must give a person a document mentioned in this
                            subsection in the way prescribed by the regulations for the document
                            (see, for example, subsections 119(2), 127(2A) and 501G(3) and
                            paragraph 504(1)(e)).
               Note 2:      For the giving of such a document to the person’s authorised recipient,
                            see section 494D.