Acs18 v Minister for Immigration

This matter concerned an application for judicial review of a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (the Tribunal). The applicants sought to challenge the Tribunal's determination that it lacked jurisdiction to review a decision made by a delegate of the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, which refused to grant the applicants a Protection (Class XA) visa. The Tribunal's jurisdictional limitation arose because the applicants had lodged their application for review more than 28 days after being notified of the delegate's decision.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether the Tribunal had incorrectly concluded that it lacked jurisdiction to consider the applicants' application for review. This required the Court to determine the date on which the applicants were notified of the delegate's decision, the prescribed period within which an application for review must be lodged, and the actual date on which the applicants filed their application with the Tribunal. The Court also considered an application for an adjournment made by the unrepresented applicants, who sought legal advice.

Justice Manousaridis reasoned that the time limit for lodging an application for review with the Tribunal was strict and that the Tribunal did not possess the power to extend this period. The Court found that the delegate's decision was transmitted by email on 29 June 2017, and the applicants lodged their application for review on 27 July 2017. This meant the application was lodged outside the 28-day timeframe. Consequently, the Court determined that there was no arguable case that the Tribunal had incorrectly concluded it lacked jurisdiction. The application for an adjournment was refused, and the application for judicial review was dismissed.