2008902 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of China, sought review of a decision by the Refugee Review Tribunal. The dispute concerned the timeliness of the applicant's application for review, which was lodged with the Tribunal on 27 May 2020. The Tribunal, constituted by Member Wendy Banfield, considered whether it had jurisdiction to hear the application.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the application for review had been made in accordance with the relevant legislative provisions, specifically concerning the time limits for lodging such an application. The Tribunal was required to determine if the lodgement date of 27 May 2020 satisfied the statutory requirements for a valid application for review.

The Tribunal reasoned that as the application for review was not received by the Tribunal until 27 May 2020, it was not made in accordance with the relevant legislation. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the merits of the application. The Tribunal therefore made the order that it did not have jurisdiction in this matter.