Al Kasha and Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs (Citizenship)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered an application by Mr Al Kasha for review of a decision made by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs. Mr Al Kasha sought to extend the time within which to lodge his application for review, having missed the original deadline. The substantive issue concerned Mr Al Kasha's eligibility for Australian citizenship by conferral, which he had not yet attained due to his repeated failure to pass the citizenship test.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether to grant an extension of time for Mr Al Kasha to seek review of the delegate's decision. In determining this, the Tribunal was required to consider the length of the delay, the reasons provided for the delay, the existence of an arguable case on the merits of the substantive application, and any potential prejudice to the respondent. The Tribunal also had to have regard to the merits of the substantive application itself when deciding whether to extend time, following established principles from cases such as *R v Secretary of State for the Home Department: Ex Parte Mehta* and *Jackamarra v Krakouer*.

The Tribunal noted that Mr Al Kasha had received notification of the delegate's decision on 11 August 2022 but did not lodge his application for review until 25 September 2022, which was 17 days out of time. Mr Al Kasha's sole reason for the delay was that he "did not notice" the email advising him of the decision. While the respondent submitted the delay was not significant, the Tribunal found that Mr Al Kasha had not provided a compelling reason for the delay. Crucially, the Tribunal considered that the merits of the substantive application were weak, as Mr Al Kasha had not met the mandatory requirements for citizenship by conferral due to his repeated unsuccessful attempts at the citizenship test. Consequently, the Tribunal refused to extend the time for Mr Al Kasha to seek review.