1809318 (Refugee)

The applicant sought review of a decision made by a delegate of the Minister regarding a protection visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was asked to consider whether it had jurisdiction to review the delegate's decision.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it possessed jurisdiction to consider the applicant's application for review, given that the application was lodged outside the prescribed time limits. The Tribunal was required to determine if any exceptions or provisions allowed for the late lodgement of the review application.

The Tribunal determined that it did not have jurisdiction in this matter. It indicated that if it received further documentation appearing to seek review of the same delegate's decision, it would not treat it as a new application. Instead, the Tribunal would advise the applicant that it could not consider the case further, without allocating a new case number, seeking comment on validity, or making a further jurisdictional decision. The Tribunal concluded that it lacked the power to review the decision due to the circumstances of the application's lodgement.