2208393 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of China, sought review of a decision concerning their application for a protection visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered whether it had jurisdiction to hear the application, given that it was lodged out of time.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the application for review had been made in accordance with the relevant legislative requirements. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the lodgement date of the application for review was within the prescribed time limits, thereby conferring jurisdiction.

The Tribunal found that the application for review was not received until 9 June 2022. As this date fell outside the statutory timeframe for lodging such an application, the Tribunal concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the matter. The Tribunal applied the principle that strict adherence to legislative timeframes is necessary for the conferral of jurisdiction.

Consequently, the Tribunal made no order other than to state that it did not have jurisdiction in this matter.