Aip21 v Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs

The applicant, Aip21, sought judicial review of a decision made by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. The applicant had applied to the Federal Circuit Court for an extension of time to file his application, as it was lodged significantly outside the prescribed 35-day limit. The Minister for Immigration, Citizenship, Migrant Services and Multicultural Affairs was the respondent.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether it was in the interests of the administration of justice to grant the applicant an extension of time to pursue his judicial review proceedings, pursuant to section 477(2)(b) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth). This required the Court to consider factors including the length of the delay, the adequacy of the explanation for the delay, and the merit of the proposed substantive application for judicial review.

The Court noted that the applicant's application for judicial review was filed over 1000 days after the Tribunal's decision. The applicant's affidavit did not provide an explanation for this substantial delay, nor did it articulate why an extension would be in the interests of justice. Furthermore, the Court examined the Tribunal's decisions, which indicated that the applicant had failed to attend a scheduled hearing and had not sought reinstatement of his application within the permitted timeframe. The Tribunal had subsequently confirmed the dismissal of the application and found it had no jurisdiction to review the delegate's decision a second time. The Court concluded that granting an extension of time to pursue an application that had no arguable prospect of success would be futile and not in the interests of the administration of justice.

Consequently, the Court dismissed the applicant's application for an order pursuant to section 477(2) of the *Migration Act 1958* (Cth).