1811416 (Refugee)

The applicant sought review of a decision by the Minister to refuse to grant a protection visa. The applicant's claim for protection was based on events occurring in Malaysia. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was asked to determine whether it had jurisdiction to hear the applicant's appeal.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the application for review had been lodged within the time prescribed by the relevant legislation. Specifically, the Tribunal had to consider the statutory time limits for lodging an application for review with the AAT.

The Tribunal found that the application for review was received on 22 April 2018. As this date fell outside the statutory timeframe for lodging such an application, the Tribunal concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the merits of the applicant's case. The Tribunal applied the principle that strict adherence to statutory time limits is a prerequisite for the Tribunal to exercise its jurisdiction.

Consequently, the Tribunal made no order on the merits of the protection visa application, as it determined it did not have the power to do so.