1729548 (Refugee)

The applicant sought review of a decision concerning a protection visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was required to determine whether the applicant's application for review was lodged within the prescribed time limit.

The central legal issue was whether the applicant had been validly notified of the original decision, which would trigger the commencement of the time period for lodging a review application. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider the application of section 494C of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) regarding the deemed notification of decisions.

The Tribunal found that, pursuant to section 494C of the Act, the applicant was taken to have been notified of the decision on a specific date in October 2017. This deemed notification meant that the prescribed period for applying for a review expired on a date in November 2017. As the application for review was received by the Tribunal on 24 November 2017, it was lodged outside the statutory time limit.

Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the application for review was not made in accordance with the relevant legislation, and therefore, the Tribunal lacked jurisdiction to consider the merits of the application. The Tribunal made no order as to costs.