BZACY v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection

In the matter of BZACY v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, the applicant, a Sri Lankan national who arrived in Australia on 7 February 2010, sought to appeal the Federal Circuit Court decision of 28 June 2013 that dismissed his challenge to the rejection of his claims for protection as a refugee. The applicant had not lodged an appeal within the time allowed for such an appeal, and sought an extension of time (EOT) to bring forward the appeal. The legal issues the court had to determine were whether there was a satisfactory explanation for the delay in filing the relevant Notice of Appeal and whether there was some prospect that the appeal itself, if allowed, would be successful.

The court considered the evidence presented by the applicant, which included his claims of severe depression and mental health challenges at the time of the decision, lack of legal advice, and no community help to prepare the appeal documents. However, the court noted that the absence of any documents to support the applicant's assertion of mental illness meant that the only evidence of these matters was the bald assertion made by him. The court concluded that the applicant had not provided a satisfactory explanation for the delay in filing the relevant Notice of Appeal.

The court also considered whether there was some prospect that the appeal itself, if allowed, would be successful. The court noted that the Circuit Judge had rejected the applicant's grounds of review based on allegations of bias, procedural errors, and credibility findings. The court found that there was no prospect that the appeal would be successful.

Accordingly, the court refused the applicant's EOT application and dismissed the Interlocutory Application.