2009334 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of Fiji, 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 one day after the statutory deadline. The Tribunal, constituted by Member Meena Sripathy, was required to determine whether it had jurisdiction to hear the application.

The central legal issue was whether the Tribunal possessed the power to extend the time limit for lodging an application for review, particularly when the application was received only one day late and no response was provided to the Tribunal's invitation to comment. The Tribunal considered the relevant legislative provisions governing the timeframes for making such applications.

The Tribunal reasoned that the application for review was not made in accordance with the relevant legislation because it was received by the Tribunal on 4 June 2020, which was after the prescribed deadline. The Tribunal concluded that it had no discretion to extend this time period. Consequently, the Tribunal determined that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the merits of the applicant's case. The Tribunal made no orders as it found it had no jurisdiction in the matter.