2107300 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of China, sought review of a decision by the Minister to refuse to grant a protection visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was asked to determine whether it had jurisdiction to hear the application for review.

The central legal issue before the AAT was whether the application for review had been lodged within the time prescribed by the relevant legislation. Specifically, the AAT had to consider if the application was made within 28 days of the notification of the refusal decision, as required by section 420(1) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth).

The AAT found that the application for review was received on 3 June 2021, which was more than 28 days after the applicant was notified of the refusal decision. As the application was not made in accordance with the statutory time limits, the AAT concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the merits of the application. Consequently, the AAT made no order in relation to the merits of the protection visa application.