BIN MUDA (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered an application for review by Bin Muda concerning a Bridging B (Class WB) visa. The core of the dispute revolved around whether the applicant was within the migration zone at the time their application for review was made, which is a prerequisite for the Tribunal to exercise jurisdiction.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether it possessed jurisdiction to hear the applicant's review. This depended on whether the applicant was physically present within the migration zone when the application for review was lodged, as required by section 347 of the relevant migration legislation.

The Tribunal found that the applicant had departed Australia on 31 August 2017 and there was no evidence of their return. Consequently, the Tribunal concluded that the applicant was not in the migration zone at the relevant time. As the applicant's presence in the migration zone was a jurisdictional fact, the Tribunal determined that the application for review was not properly made under section 347, and therefore, the Tribunal lacked jurisdiction to proceed with the matter. The Tribunal made no orders as it found it had no jurisdiction.