2311668 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for review of a decision to refuse a protection visa. The applicant sought review of the refusal decision made by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs. The Tribunal was required to determine whether it had jurisdiction to hear the application for review.

The central legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the application for review had been lodged within the time prescribed by the relevant legislation. Specifically, the Tribunal had to ascertain if the application was made within 28 days of the notification of the visa refusal decision, as required by section 420(1) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). The Tribunal also noted that no response was provided to an invitation to comment on the timeliness of the application.

The Tribunal found that the application for review was received on 6 August 2023, which was more than 28 days after the notification of the refusal decision. Applying section 420(1) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth), the Tribunal concluded that the application was not made in accordance with the legislative requirements. Consequently, the Tribunal determined that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the merits of the application.

The Tribunal ordered that it does not have jurisdiction in this matter.