1834548 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for review of a decision concerning a protection visa. The applicants sought to have the decision reviewed by the Tribunal, but their application was lodged after the statutory deadline.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it had jurisdiction to hear the application for review, given that it was not made within the time prescribed by the relevant legislation. The Tribunal was required to determine if there were any provisions within the Act or Regulations that allowed for an extension of time or a waiver of the lodgment period.

The Tribunal found that the application for review was received on 23 November 2018, which was outside the prescribed period for lodgment. The Tribunal noted the reasons provided by the applicants for the delay but concluded that neither the Act nor the Regulations conferred any discretion to waive or extend the time limit for lodging a review application. Consequently, the Tribunal determined that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the matter. The Tribunal made no orders as it had no jurisdiction to proceed with the review.