Aguek and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application by Mr Aguek for an extension of time to lodge an application for review of a decision made by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs. The application was made significantly out of time.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it was reasonable in all the circumstances to exercise its discretion under section 29(7) of the *Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975* (Cth) to extend the time for Mr Aguek to make his application for review. In determining this, the Tribunal was required to consider factors including the extent of the delay and the explanation for it, any prejudice to the respondent or the public, whether the applicant had rested on their review rights, and the merits of the substantive application.

The Tribunal found that Mr Aguek was approximately one year and seven months out of time from the delegate's decision. His explanation for the delay involved the withdrawal of a previous merits review application by his solicitor, which Mr Aguek claimed occurred without his instructions due to his own delays in providing instructions and paperwork. The Tribunal considered this explanation unlikely without independent evidence and noted that even if accepted, the responsibility for the situation would still largely fall on Mr Aguek for failing to instruct his solicitor in a timely manner. The Tribunal concluded that Mr Aguek could be said to have rested on his review rights and that the current application had not been made in a timely manner.

Consequently, the Tribunal determined that it was not reasonable in the circumstances to extend the time for Mr Aguek to lodge his application for review and refused the application.