1713555 (Refugee)

The applicant sought review of a decision concerning a protection visa, with the matter heard by Member Angela Cranston of the Tribunal. The central dispute revolved around whether the applicant's application for review was lodged within the prescribed time limits.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it possessed jurisdiction to hear the applicant's review. This question hinged on the determination of when the applicant was deemed to have been notified of the original decision, and consequently, when the statutory time limit for lodging an application for review commenced and expired.

Member Cranston reasoned that pursuant to section 494C of the Act, the applicant was taken to have been notified of the decision in May 2017. This established that the prescribed 28-day period for lodging an application for review expired in June 2017, irrespective of whether a specific date within that period was a public holiday. As the application for review was not received by the Tribunal until 26 June 2017, it was therefore not made in accordance with the relevant legislative requirements.

Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the applicant's matter.