2205792 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of China, sought review of a decision concerning a protection visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) was asked to consider whether it had jurisdiction to hear the application.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the application for review had been lodged within the time prescribed by the relevant legislation. This question of jurisdiction was determinative of whether the Tribunal could proceed to consider the merits of the applicant's case.

The Tribunal found that the application for review was received on 19 April 2022. As this date was outside the statutory time limits for lodging such an application, the Tribunal concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to hear the matter. The Tribunal applied the principle that strict adherence to statutory timeframes is essential for the exercise of its jurisdiction.

Consequently, the Tribunal made no order on the merits of the protection visa application, as it had no jurisdiction to do so.