2106905 (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 Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) on 24 May 2021. The respondent was the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it had jurisdiction to consider the applicant's application for review, given that it was lodged outside the prescribed time limits.

The Tribunal Member, Mary Sheargold, found that the application for review was not received by the Tribunal within the time stipulated by the relevant legislation. Consequently, the Tribunal lacked the necessary jurisdiction to proceed with the review. The Tribunal applied the principle that strict adherence to statutory timeframes is essential for the exercise of its jurisdiction.

The Tribunal made no orders as to costs and determined that it did not have jurisdiction in this matter.