2203504 (Refugee)

The applicant sought review of a decision made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) concerning a protection visa application. The AAT had previously made a decision in AAT case 2104030. The current application before the Tribunal was lodged out of time, leading to a jurisdictional challenge.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it possessed the jurisdiction to hear the applicant's review application, given that it was lodged after the prescribed time limit. The Tribunal was required to determine if the applicant's recourse was to lodge a new application for review or to seek judicial review of the prior AAT decision.

Member Nathan Goetz reasoned that the applicant's disagreement with the Tribunal's previous decision in AAT case 2104030 did not permit the lodging of a fresh review application. Instead, the appropriate legal avenue for challenging that decision was to seek judicial review in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to entertain the current application.