2107862 (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for review concerning a Bridging E (Class WE) visa. The applicant sought to challenge a decision related to their visa application, but the validity of that application was in question.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it possessed jurisdiction to hear the application for review. This depended on whether the applicant had made a valid application to the Tribunal, which in turn hinged on whether the prescribed application fee had been paid and if any determination had been made to reduce that fee.

The Tribunal found that the prescribed fee for the application had not been paid, and crucially, no determination had been made that the fee should be reduced. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the application for review was not a valid application. As a result, the Tribunal determined that it lacked jurisdiction to proceed with the matter.