2319147 (Refugee)

The applicant, a citizen of East Timor, sought review of a decision by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs to refuse to grant a protection visa. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal had previously affirmed the Minister's decision, and the applicant had lodged a subsequent application for a protection visa. The Federal Circuit Court of Australia was asked to determine whether it had jurisdiction to hear the matter.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the applicant's second application for a protection visa was a "reviewable decision" within the meaning of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth) and the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth), given that a previous application had already been refused and affirmed by the Tribunal. Specifically, the Court had to consider the effect of section 48 of the *Migration Act*, which generally bars a non-citizen who is in Australia and whose visa application has been refused (and not subsequently revoked) from applying for most other visas while remaining in Australia.

The Court reasoned that the applicant's second protection visa application was not a "claim for a protection visa" in the sense contemplated by the *Migration Act* for the purposes of a merits review by the Tribunal, due to the operation of section 48. The previous decision by the Tribunal affirming the refusal of the initial protection visa application meant that the applicant was barred from making a further application for a protection visa while remaining in Australia. Consequently, the subsequent application was not a decision that could be reviewed by the Tribunal, and therefore the Federal Circuit Court lacked jurisdiction to hear the appeal.

The Court made orders striking out the application for review for want of jurisdiction.