1836679 (Refugee)

The applicant sought review of a decision by the Minister to refuse to grant a protection visa. The application for review was lodged with the Tribunal on 13 December 2018, which was outside the prescribed time limit. The applicant contended that the lateness was due to a lack of knowledge regarding the application process and the time limits.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it had jurisdiction to consider the application for review, given that it was lodged out of time. This required the Tribunal to determine if the applicant had taken all reasonable steps to comply with the legislative timeframes for lodging an application for review.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had consulted a person who claimed to be a visa expert. However, the Tribunal held that the applicant had not exercised good judgment in selecting this individual and that the responsibility for ensuring the application was lodged within the time limit rested with the applicant. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the application for review was not made in accordance with the relevant legislation.

As a result, the Tribunal determined that it had no jurisdiction to hear the matter.