Biunno (Migration)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) considered a matter involving the applicant, Biunno, and the Department of Home Affairs concerning a Skilled (Provisional) (Class VC) visa application. The core of the dispute revolved around the refusal of a request for a fee reduction and the subsequent late payment of the prescribed application fee.

The Tribunal was required to determine whether it had jurisdiction to hear the applicant's review. This question hinged on whether the application for review was validly made, which in turn depended on whether the prescribed application fee was paid within the time stipulated by the Tribunal.

The Tribunal reasoned that the applicant was notified of the refusal of their fee reduction request on 14 March 2019 and was subsequently given 14 days to pay the application fee. Despite this period, the fee was received by the Tribunal on 29 March 2019, which was after the specified period had expired. The Tribunal concluded that the applicant had been afforded a reasonable opportunity to pay the fee, but failed to do so within the required timeframe. Consequently, the application for review was deemed invalid, and the Tribunal held that it lacked jurisdiction to proceed with the matter.