2403878 (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, but the application was lodged with the Tribunal after the statutory time limit had expired. The Tribunal had invited the applicant to provide comments regarding the delay, but no response was received.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it had jurisdiction to hear the application for review, given that it was lodged out of time and no explanation for the delay had been provided. The Tribunal was required to determine if the application had been made in accordance with the relevant legislative provisions governing the timeframes for lodging applications for review.

The Tribunal found that the application for review was received on 2 March 2024, which was beyond the prescribed time limit. As the application was not made in accordance with the relevant legislation, the Tribunal concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the merits of the case. The Tribunal did not have jurisdiction in this matter.