2107451 (Refugee)

The applicant sought review of a decision by the Minister to refuse to grant a protection visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was asked to consider whether it had jurisdiction to hear the applicant's review application, which was lodged out of time.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant's application for review had been made in accordance with the relevant legislative provisions, specifically concerning the time limits for lodging such applications. The Tribunal was required to determine if it possessed jurisdiction to proceed with the review given the late lodgement.

The Tribunal found that the application for review was not received until 7 June 2021. As this date fell outside the prescribed timeframes stipulated by the relevant legislation for making an application for review, the Tribunal concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the matter. The Tribunal applied the principle that strict adherence to statutory time limits is a prerequisite for the Tribunal to exercise its jurisdiction.

Consequently, the Tribunal made no order on the merits of the protection visa application, as it determined it did not have jurisdiction to hear the review.